It's a Whole New World
by Desktop Warrior
Summary: The Trainer. The Coordinator. The photographer. Brendan, May, and Todd's paths converge in the Johto region as they pursue their goals. As they face their own personal struggles, Team Rocket ups its game. But in the shadows is another, far worse enemy...
1. Trouble at Sea

**Chapter 1: Trouble at Sea**

It was a hot afternoon in Littleroot Town, the steadily waning sunlight filtered by the branches of trees as it illuminated Brendan Birch's room. A medley of Pokémon sounds filled the air, Taillow and Swellow chirping and Nincada buzzing. Brendan took a deep breath of fresh air as he glanced outside, his ruby eyes momentarily reflecting the sunlight. He smiled as he lay stomach-down on his bed, resuming the task of polishing his Pokéballs. _I want everything to be perfect, _he thought to himself. _Tomorrow, I'll be starting my new adventure in Johto._

He felt something rap against his head. "Hey, anyone home?" asked a slightly annoyed voice. Brendan looked up into the inquisitive face of his best friend Julian, feeling the other's sky blue eyes boring holes into his own. Julian's short, spiky black hair remained anchored in place against the breeze which blew in that moment, thanks to a liberal dose of hair gel.

"Sorry, zoned out there for a minute," Brendan answered, putting down the cloth he was using to polish his Pokéballs. "What were you saying?"

"My trip to Johto with my folks, remember?" Julian reminded him. "The one _you _asked me about, like, a million times? Anyway, we stopped in Olivine City for a couple days on our way to Cianwood. Good thing, too. The gym leader there…" The corners of his lips creased as he reminisced.

"Jasmine or something like that," Brendan filled in, clipping some Poké- and Great Balls onto the side of his belt.

"Yeah, Jasmine!" Julian said excitedly, adjusting his position in the chair he was sitting as the sun peeked through the trees. "She's _amazing._ Trains Steel types, and she's got a handle on Electric too. You know the Olivine Lighthouse, the one with the Ampharos? Well, the Ampharos is _hers,_ believe it or not."

"No way!" Julian had Brendan's full attention now. The Olivine Lighthouse was one of the best known landmarks in the world, mostly due to the fact that its "beacon" was actually the glowing tail of an Ampharos. Beyond that, the lighthouse's technology had been eagerly copied worldwide, most notably by Sunyshore City in Sinnoh.

"Way," Julian said with a nod. "I begged Mom and Dad to let me watch one of her Gym battles. She creamed the poor guy who challenged her. He was using a Blaziken – freakin' _Blaziken _– and didn't even land a hit on her Steelix. And did I mention…" he smiled lewdly, not even having the decency to blush as he handed Brendan the magazine he was holding. It was the latest issue of _Trainer Fashion Monthly_; Julian had marked a page with a sticky note, and Brendan could guess the contents of that page as he opened the magazine.

It was a full-page photograph of a woman with long, light brown hair tied with two yellow barrettes at the top. She was smiling gently, accentuating the almond shape of her dark gray eyes. Dressed in a two piece yellow bathing suit, she had adopted a rather reserved pose, as if her exposure made her uncomfortable.

_"That, _my friend, is Jasmine," said Julian. Brendan didn't reply, save for a smirk as bad as his buddy's. He closed the magazine and reverently put it into his backpack, which lay on the floor by the bed.

"Remind me to subscribe once I get to Johto," Brendan said, zipping the backpack shut.

"Good man," Julian responded. "So what Pokémon are you taking with you?"

"Lear for sure," Brendan stated matter-of-factly. Lear was the nickname he had given Swampert, his first Pokémon. It was with Lear that Brendan had started on his journey through Hoenn a month after his twelfth birthday, back when the blue behemoth was a cute little Mudkip that liked to ride in his backpack. _Hard to believe it's been two years already._ "And I want to take Chimecho, too. I never really used her at all since I caught her on Mt. Pyre that time."

"On one of our many skirmishes with Aqua and Magma," Julian laughed, a faraway look momentarily dulling his eyes. "Good times."

"Yeah…I really wanted to take Lunatone, 'cause I haven't battled with it much, but Dad wants to _study _it some more." Brendan rolled his eyes. "So Nathair's coming along instead." Nathair, Brendan's Seviper, was one of the most experienced Pokémon on his team, making up in speed and cunning what he lacked in raw power.

"Good idea, bringing the two pillars of your team to teach the new girl some stuff."

"Especially since those two got me into 2nd place in the Ever Grande Conference. Even against Tyson, they held their own−" Brendan stopped mid-sentence as he saw a shadow flit across Julian's face. _Crap, I shouldn't be talking about that. Not after what happened that time._

"Sorry," he muttered, hanging his head.

"Dude, it's okay!" Julian answered, still smiling. "It's not like I have a problem with you talking about it."

"Nah, I shouldn't have−"

Julian playfully punched Brendan on the shoulder, cutting him off. _"Chill."_ Julian motioned up and down with an outstretched palm. "You worry too much. It's bad for your health."

Brendan smiled disarmingly, then without warning, pretended to put Julian in a headlock. The two boys fell to the floor, laughing as they got into a mock fight.

After they talked some more, Julian looked at his watch. "6:30," he said, standing up from the bed. "Man, I should probably head home for dinner."

"What? No!" Brendan protested, his smile fading into a crestfallen look. "Come on, bud, stay here. You know Mom and Dad won't mind."

"Wish I could," said Julian. "But I have to go to that thing tonight with my family, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Brendan suddenly remembered. "A bunch of your folks are coming over from Zand."

"_Really_ don't want to go, but what can I do?" Julian rolled his eyes.

"It'll be good to see them again though, right?"

Julian made an affirmative noise, and Brendan got up from the bed. The latter remained silent for a moment before saying, "Good seeing you, Julian."

"Take care, man…okay?" Julian's reply was solemn, and Brendan knew there was more to it than simple well-wishing.

"Will do," said Brendan reassuringly. "You too."

Julian scoffed before hugging his friend. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Another smile, and the spiky-haired boy left, disappearing from Brendan's sight as he ran through the hall and down the stairs. Brendan followed him a moment later, yelling from the top of the stairs, "You better be the Kanto Champion next time I see you!"

"We'll both be Champions!" The equally passionate reply came from the front door, followed by a slam.

Brendan's smile became wan. "Yeah…" he whispered, swallowing reflexively. He wouldn't admit this to Julian, but he was really going to miss the guy.

Brendan had first met Julian twelve years ago, when they were both just two years old. Julian's family had moved to Littleroot from a place called Zand, far to the east of Hoenn, and had lived in the same house just down the street from Brendan's since then. From the moment they'd met, they'd instantly bonded. As Julian liked to put it, they'd been best friends since before they could form coherent sentences. The two of them had constantly been around Pokémon, playing and battling with them at every opportunity; something encouraged by Brendan's father, the famous Professor Birch. It was only natural, then, that they'd chosen to travel together throughout Hoenn two years ago, when they had received their training licences.

That year of travelling had taught them much. Aside from Pokémon training, they learned the skills necessary to survive in the vast wilderness. Brendan and Julian also took it on themselves to become a thorn in the side of Teams Aqua and Magma, ruining their plans at every opportunity. He still remembered the thrill he felt when they had finally made it to the Hoenn League. Those days in Ever Grande City were still fresh in his mind, those moments spent preparing for the battles that lay ahead…

_That's when everything went wrong, _he thought, his face hardening. _Right before the elimination rounds, too. Julian never even got a chance to battle before−_

_ Gotta stop thinking about that! What's done is done. I'm heading off to Johto, and Julian's going to Kanto a week from now to compete in the Indigo League._

Brendan's thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of tires screeching on pavement. He rolled his eyes. _Dad, driving like a maniac as usual. Arceus, I hope I survive 'til I'm 15 and can get my driver's licence._ He raced down the stairs and into the living room just in time to see the door open. Professor Birch came in and shut it behind him. Brendan had to say, his dad was exhausted. Normally, the large man was very energetic, but he'd been working much harder than usual over the last few weeks, and it was beginning to show. The Professor had dark bags under his eyes, his brown hair was rumpled, and he breathed heavily.

"Whew!" Professor Birch exhaled sharply, "Sorry I'm late, son. Busy day at the lab."

"What happened?" asked Brendan, lying on a couch. He rolled his eyes as the Professor hung up his lab coat on the old, knobbly wooden coat rack next to the door. "Dad, don't hang that up there. Mom's gonna throw a fit."

"Oh, surely one moment won't hurt," the Professor mumbled sheepishly.

Brendan sighed. Not that he cared personally, but that coat rack had gone through five generations in his mother's family, and he knew how sensitive she was about it. She wouldn't let anything with even a speck of dirt touch the relic, and Brendan stifled a snort as he pictured her seeing Dad's dirty, mud-stained lab coat hanging on one of the hooks.

"Okay, okay," Professor Birch relented, putting his coat back on and taking his shoes off as he came into the living room. "A lot of people are coming in from overseas to participate in the Hoenn League, and their Pokémon needed a check-up. Things like that."

"I hope you at least gave mine a check-up!" Brendan said with a chuckle.

"Of course I did!" Birch replied with mock indignation. "I gave them their shots today, too. Malaria, tetanus, yellow fever…all across the board."

Brendan gave his dad a curious look as the latter walked into the small adjoining laundry room. "Yellow fever? Seriously?"

"What if you come into contact with tropical or sub-tropical life forms?" the Professor responded apologetically, turning momentarily to look at his son.

"Dad. Johto. _Joh-to,"_ Brendan enunciated slowly and clearly._ "_Nowhere near the equator."

Birch walked out of the laundry room, where he had put his lab coat in the laundry basket. "What, you aren't gonna thank your old man?" he grumbled jokingly. "Kids these days."

Brendan leapt off the couch and hugged the Professor tightly. "Thanks, Dad. Really."

"That's…okay…" Brendan noticed his dad was gasping for breath and let go, sitting on the couch again. The Professor then adopted a more serious tone. "I'm proud of you, Brendan. Your Pokémon are all in excellent condition."

"Well, yeah," the younger Birch said smugly. "They have the best trainer!"

"Oh?" Birch chuckled. "You sound confident. Must be all the excitement about leaving tomorrow. Speaking of which, are you all packed?"

"Not much to pack, Dad. I'm a trainer, not a scientist. And don't worry" –he added hastily, seeing the other's apprehensive glance– "I remembered to pack spare clothes and underwear."

"Haha, that's your mom you should be reassuring." The Professor looked down at the work clothes he himself was wearing. "Speaking of which…" He headed upstairs to change and Brendan smiled to himself.

_Same old Dad. I'll sure miss everyone here once I set off tomorrow. Fun as it is to travel, it sure is great spending some time at home. Mom, Dad…I'll be thinking of you while I'm in Johto._

_

* * *

_

The rest of the night went without incident, and next morning, Brendan's mother drove the whole family to the port. They arrived early and sat in the departure lobby, talking about Brendan's upcoming trip. Brendan had decided to get Chimecho to know him better, letting her hover around them airily. As the time of his departure approached, Mom was beginning to fret.

"Oh…" she said anxiously. "You'll be fine, won't you, honey?"

Brendan rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mom," he groaned, giving Chimecho a pat on the yellow bell on top of her head. "We've been over this a hundred times."

She smiled, gazing at her boy with bright red eyes. Along with her thick, jet-black hair, it was a feature she had passed on to him. Brendan remembered how people had told him he looked exactly like his mother when he was younger. He'd been slender and slightly on the tall side, just like she was. As he went through adolescence, however, it was obvious that he'd inherited some of his father's stocky build, having put on some muscle over the past two years of journeying.

"I know," Mom answered, resting her hands on Brendan's shoulders and thinking how much her boy had grown. "It's just that you're going so far away. At least you were in Hoenn the past two years, first when you were in the League and then when you challenged the Hoenn Battle Frontier." She sighed. "The house will be so empty again."

"Hey, I'll still be around!" Dad admonished her, a look of mock hurt on his face.

Mom turned her gaze to Chimecho, who had comically wrapped her streamer around Brendan's spiky white tuque. "Make sure you take care of him, Chimecho!" she said jokingly. "Keep him out of trouble."

Brendan rolled his eyes again. "Mom…"

"Chime!" Chimecho answered with an innocent smile.

"Don't encourage her!" Brendan hissed in response.

The ship's horn suddenly sounded, a low bass note that cut through the still morning air. Chimecho let out a startled cry and darted behind Brendan, who held the Pokémon to his chest to calm her down. Shortly following the blast was the crackling of an officer's voice through the PA system, stating that all passengers were invited to board at this time. As the rest of the passengers formed a line in front of the wide glass doors opening out to the docks, Brendan picked up his backpack from the floor and slung it over his shoulders.

"Guess it's time," he said in a softer voice than he'd intended to. "Bye, guys." He squeezed his parents in a group hug.

"Take care, honey," said Mom as they let go.

"Bring home the win!" the Professor added enthusiastically.

Brendan gave them one last smile. "Count on it." Recalling Chimecho into her Pokéball, he turned around and merged into the throng of people lining up to board the ferry.

* * *

Two more days came and went without incident, during which Brendan spent most of his time exploring the massive ship, aptly named the _S.S. Oceania_. There were three floors below deck; Brendan's room was on the first of these, as were the dining room, souvenir shops, and other amenities. He would sometimes train with Lear, Nathair, and Chimecho on deck when there weren't too many people around, noting with pleasure that Chimecho was progressing by leaps and bounds. Pokémon training and battles weren't prohibited onboard – in fact, several sailors approached him with a challenge – but Brendan could tell that the other passengers weren't the battling sort. He hadn't come across any other trainers like himself on the ship, which was somewhat disappointing.

Today, they would finally arrive in Coastline City. Thoughts of his imminent arrival consumed Brendan's mind as he paced excitedly on deck three hours before they were to dock. He stopped for a moment, gazing at the shoreline far ahead, a thin, hazy band of teal which divided the clear blue sky above from the infinite ocean below.

Brendan took a deep breath of salty air, a smile on his face. He turned away from the vista in front of him for a moment, staring down at the frothy trails the ship made as it tore through the water. _There'll be lots of new Water Pokémon in Johto, too,_ he thought with a rush of pleasure. _I wonder if there are any out here!_

A dark shape suddenly flitted somewhere below the surface. Brendan's eyes widened. The way it was moving, it had to be a Pokémon of some sort.

"Maybe it's a Johto Pokémon," he mused out loud, still looking down as he leaned on the railing. Suddenly, a geyser of water appeared some distance away, and his eyes flitted in that direction. Could it be…? _That looks just like Wailmer and Wailord's spouts of water when they exhale. Wonder what they'd be doing so far from Hoenn, though. _More geysers soon shot out of the water close to where the first one had erupted, vanishing quickly into a glimmering spray. The thumping of people making their way across the deck indicated that the spectacle had attracted a few more onlookers. The passengers talked excitedly amongst each other, some of whom took photographs and bragged about what a story this would make for friends and relatives back home.

A large blue hump appeared under one of the geysers, confirming for everyone that they were indeed made by Wailmer. _So there _are _some familiar Pokémon out here after all,_ Brendan thought as he dug his camera out of a pocket in his backpack and snapped a few photos for himself. He was so excited that he barely listened to the captain speaking over the PA system.

"If you look to the port side, you will see a herd of Wailmer and Wailord," the captain's voice crackled as more people filed out of the cabin and gathered around the railing. "They're very rare in these waters, so take a picture while you can. Please remember that we are still in international waters, so the capturing of Pokémon is strictly prohibited."

Brendan felt a strong jab in his upper arm push him aside. "Hey, watch it!" he barked as he turned to face the offender, a skinny thirty-something man dressed in the stereotypical tourist's outfit of a straw hat, flowery shirt, and khaki shorts. The other didn't respond, continuing to chat with his friends, and Brendan turned back to stare at the Wailmer and Wailord.

_Like being on the S.S. Tidal from Lilycove to Slateport, _he thought, memories of his first Pokémon journey coming back to him. _A little piece of Hoenn−_

_"…all gathered together. Bravo Ten, initiate Phase Two."_

The voice, barely above a whisper, brought Brendan out of his thoughts. He snapped his head up and looked around, trying to find out who had spoken.

He had barely done so when a loud explosion tore through the air, shaking the ship violently and knocking most people off their feet. The force of the explosion knocked Brendan into the railing, and he cried out in pain as his chest collided with a bar of cold metal. Ironically, it was the only thing that prevented him from tumbling over the edge and into the ocean. He clasped it firmly in his left hand as his knees buckled from the pain of the impact.

Brendan looked around frantically, his ears ringing from the blast. Passengers were running every which way and screaming, an equally harried crew attempting in vain to restore some semblance of order. A thick layer of smoke and debris slowly covered the deck, and through the thickening miasma, Brendan noticed to his horror that the explosion had come from the bridge. What was left of it, anyway. Its control centre a smouldering ruin, the ship was now essentially a motionless hunk of metal. A wall of flames shone through the sepia haze and steadily snaked down the sides of the destroyed bridge. Letting go of the railing, Brendan grabbed a Pokéball from the belt of his shorts.

"Lear!" he shouted, tossing the ball out in front of him as he struggled not to let panic overwhelm him. The giant Mud Fish Pokémon emerged with a flash, letting out a loud roar. He stood on four powerful legs with three digits each, though his front legs were built in such a way that they could easily function as human arms too. A tough orange pad covered the lower portion of each leg, the same colour as his beady eyes and the thick, whisker-like appendages on each side of his face; the two whiskers on either end were long, the one in the middle barely a stub. Two round, dark blue, rudder-like fins extended from the top of each eye to the back of his head, a larger fin of similar nature surrounding the edge of his tail. His moist, amphibious skin was a deep sky blue, though it was lighter on his throat and underbelly.

_Gotta stay focused, _Brendan urged himself. _Julian and I've been in tons of situations like this before, back when Teams Aqua and Magma were around._ That lead to another thought, one which filled him with dread: _They're not back…are they? Didn't the G-Men shut them down? That voice I heard right before the explosion…_ He shook his head. _First things first._ "Lear, let's put out that fire!" The large blue Pokémon grunted affirmatively. They were about to make their way to the bridge when a voice commanded: "Stand still!"

Through the ringing in his ears, Brendan heard the sound of multiple Pokémon being released from their balls. A group of people resembling soldiers seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. They were dressed in camouflage combat fatigues, wearing black helmets that completely covered the sides and back of the head, as well as black goggles with dark green lenses. Among the Pokémon they released, Brendan recognized Crawdaunt, Mightyena, Machamp, and Shiftry, though the most common one by far was one he didn't recognize. It stood upright at about 180 centimetres, with long, thick arms, short but powerfully built legs and tail, and a powerful reptilian jaw. Its skin was scaly and light blue, save for a V-shaped patch of white on its lower belly, the white lower jaw, and three blood-red fins on the back of its head, lower back, and tail; these fins were made up of three crests, of which the centre one was the tallest. The topmost fin extended to a ridge between its eyes, the irises of which were deep yellow. On its knees, tail, and arms were square ridges that appeared to be pads, like Lear had on his legs. Its limbs ended in razor-sharp claws, five on each hand and three on each foot. Its jaws, out of which poked pearly white teeth, looked like they could crush boulders with ease.

The sight of these creatures convinced Brendan to move even faster. They had to get out of there, and quickly.

"Stop him!" a female voice shouted. "We can't let him get away!" Brendan turned in the direction of the voice to see three soldiers running toward him, the one in the lead wearing a black military vest with a gold insignia on the left side. The black-vested soldier's lighter physique indicated she was a woman; in fact, she appeared to be the leader. Brendan knew they were going to have to deal with these guys first before trying to put out the fire. Brendan skidded to a stop and whirled around, his Pokémon copying him.

"Lear, keep them away with Mud Shot!" he ordered, waving a hand in front of his face to keep away the dust. With another roar, his starter tilted his head back and then hurled a stream of mud out of his mouth, aiming it at the deck. The spray of mud initially stopped his pursuers in their tracks, but they didn't appear to be giving up.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

"I don't think so!" the black-vested woman sneered. Easily dodging another round of Lear's Mud Shot, she swiped a Pokéball from the belt at her side and flung it out in front of her. "Feraligatr!" she shouted, and with a flash, another one of the ferocious blue Pokémon appeared.

_A Feraligatr, _Brendan thought. _Now I remember. Dad told me they only lived in Johto. _He gritted his teeth, noting how powerful this particular specimen looked. Its yellow eyes narrowed as it gave Lear a cold reptilian stare, a look Brendan's starter returned with an equal amount of ferocity.

The woman pointed at Brendan. "Hurry up and release your Pokémon!" she barked. The two soldiers to her side instantly did as she ordered, releasing two Starmie. Though not as intimidating as the Feraligatr, Brendan knew the light purple, ten-sided Pokémon could pack a punch. Their Psychic abilities meant he couldn't use Nathair, and Chimecho had just started training: it wouldn't stand a chance against these battle-hardened opponents. Meanwhile, Brendan noticed with rising panic that more soldiers had crept up behind him. He was surrounded. The lifeboat to his right was no escape: even if he could somehow reach it in time, the soldiers would be right behind him. That is, if their Pokémon didn't get to him first.

Victory here was impossible, and Brendan knew it. Worse, his opponents knew he knew it, which was why they'd trapped him like this in the first place. Whoever these guys were, they knew what they were doing. Brendan sighed and held out his arm, Pokéball in hand. "Lear, return," he said resignedly. Glaring at the woman, he growled: "Why are you doing this?"

The woman smiled, her goggles making her expression all the more sinister. "There's a good boy," she said mockingly. "Now don't give us any more resistance, Brendan."

Brendan's eyes widened and his jaw fell slightly. "H-how do you know my name?" he managed to breathe out.

The woman didn't answer him. "You two, secure the captive," she ordered sharply to the two soldiers flanking her. They sprang forward and grabbed Brendan's arms before he could even react.

"Hey−" he started, kicking the one on the right in the shin. He was cut off as that soldier tripped him and he fell to the ground. He winced as he felt a hard boot sole on his calves, pinning him in place. He stopped struggling, knowing it would be fruitless.

An upward glance showed him that the crowd of passengers and sailors was being herded into the centre of the deck by the soldiers and their Pokémon. Any stragglers unfortunate enough to come up from their cabins to see what was going on were pushed unceremoniously into the crowd.

"Will someone please tell us what's going on?" he heard a voice pleading with the soldiers.

The leader marched up to the terrified woman who had spoken out. "I'm very glad you asked that question, ma'am," Brendan heard the former sneer sarcastically. "I was just about to answer that." From the side, he saw her reach into a pocket on her vest and pull out a small black object. She flicked a switch on it and started speaking, her voice suddenly amplified:

"As of now, we are assuming command of this vessel, the _S.S. Oceania._ We require – _demand,_ rather – your full and unconditional cooperation in anything we ask of you. Comply, and we will transport you to your destination unharmed. Any attempt to contact the authorities will be met with a swift response." Brendan shuddered at the way she said 'swift'. "Believe me," she continued ominously, "you do _not_ want to know what that entails."

Her response met with gasps and a few stifled screams as she put away the voice amplifier and turned to face Brendan.

"Let him stand," she said to the soldiers who were holding him down. They let go, and Brendan gingerly stood up, blinking away dust. As she approached him, he came to a sudden realization.

"The herd of Wailmer," he growled. "That was you, wasn't it? Just before the explosion, I heard someone say that we were all gathered together and you could start Phase Two."

The woman grinned evilly. "An astute observation, Brendan," she said with a hint of impression in her voice. "We'll have to be more cautious in the future."

"Who _are_ you? Aqua? Magma?"

The woman laughed, a cold and mirthless sound. Bringing both hands to the sides of her head, she slowly pulled off her helmet, revealing long, wavy red hair. She took off her goggles with her right hand and stared at Brendan with bright green eyes. The expression on her face was one of sadistic enjoyment, and it made him sick.

"Please don't confuse us with those simpletons," she hissed, then jerked her head to the left. "Downstairs. To the boiler room."

"Ma'am!" her subordinates replied affirmatively.

Brendan mentally shook his head in disbelief as the soldiers led him on. _Hard to believe everything was so peaceful just half an hour ago, _he thought_. Man, what have I gotten into?_

_

* * *

_

**After much hard work, planning, and determination, I've finally managed to squeeze out a version of IAWNW that I feel comfortable enough publishing again. This is the third major draft of the story; it's also the final version that will be published online, as I've said in my profile. Reading what I have here, I can hardly recognize this as the story whose first draft I published back in April 2009. A lot has changed since then. Hopefully, a lot has improved, too.**

**Above all, I'd like to thank my beta Wanderer Bard, who has worked tirelessly with me on this project. I wouldn't have been able to do this without his help and inspiration. Thanks also goes to those who have read and reviewed IAWNW in its previous, cruder drafts and to those who will read it in the future.**

**Hope you enjoyed it, folks. There's a lot more where this chapter came from.  
**


	2. Battle in the Boilers

**Chapter 2: Battle in the Boilers**

The soldiers dragged Brendan to a door on the side of the cabin, their leader trailing closely behind. Once inside, he saw that the corridors were swarming with soldiers, some of whom gave him passing glances as he was manhandled by his captors. They'd clearly done a thorough job, he reflected. At the other end of the cabin, they reached a set of stairs. Brendan was taken down two floors, to the lowest level where passengers were allowed. They headed to a metal door marked 'Crew Only' in large red letters. The woman turned the door handle and walked inside, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"In you go," she said sardonically. The soldiers dragged Brendan into a narrow, dimly lit passage. They soon turned a corner to the left, and he noticed a set of metal stairs zigzagging down, enclosed by high vertical bars. They led him down the stairs, the only sound being the clinking of their footsteps on metal as they descended into the bowels of the ship. After several flights, they reached the boiler room at the very bottom. It was an expansive space with enormous tanks lining sheer metal walls. The inner workings of the ship continued to clank and clatter, oblivious to both the damage it had suffered and what was currently taking place inside of it. Long fluorescent lamps hung overtop, creating an austere, sterile atmosphere with their cold light.

But what really made Brendan's jaw drop was the surreal scene taking place in front of him. The boiler room appeared to have been converted into a mini-laboratory, a small group of scientists in long white coats hastily darting back and forth. A pair of laptops rested on a plastic fold-up table, displaying a variety of charts and other data that one of the scientists, an older man, constantly monitored; every so often, he'd bark out observations that a pair of younger interns at another table took hurried notes on.

Strategically positioned in the centre of the makeshift lab and hooked up to one of the laptops was a device like nothing Brendan had ever seen before. It was a dark leather chair, positioned upright, with curved silver rods protruding from the back; the rods themselves were covered in fine hair-like fibres. One of the laptops was hooked up to a device like nothing Brendan had ever seen before. A small console sitting on a plastic pedestal was connected to the side of the chair by a bright red wire.

The woman motioned to the chair with a flick of her wrist. "Sit over there, Brendan," she said, giving him a slight nudge. He refused to move, turning around to face her.

Brendan eyed the device suspiciously. "W-what's that thing gonna do to me?" he asked with a slight stutter.

The woman's eyes flashed irritably. "Just do it!" she snapped. "Sit down. We can't afford any more delays." Brendan swore under his breath, but complied. _No use resisting,_ he said to himself as he sat in the chair, noticing the large metal disks embedded into the brown leather. There was one on each of the arms and four in the back.

"That's better," his captor said with mock sweetness. "Now, to properly introduce myself. I am known in the Organization as Rachel. I'm sure you're wondering why we took you of all people aside."

"Yeah, just a bit curious," Brendan said with all the sarcasm he could muster.

"See, _you're_ the reason we're here." Rachel's lips pursed slightly. "We conducted this whole operation because we need you." She turned to one of the scientists, a young man with a crew cut and glasses. "Start it up."

"Already on, ma'am," Crew Cut said briskly, typing furiously on one of the laptops.

"Wha−" Brendan started. He stopped mid-sentence as a tingle ran through him, originating from the metal disks. Reflexively, he got up, but Rachel was on him in a flash, blocking his path.

"It's natural to feel a little jolt," she explained. "It's only a tiny amount of electricity, though. Nothing even mildly risky." Brendan glared at her, and sat back down.

An intake of breath, and she swivelled to face her scientists. "Start it up." She chuckled. "Now we'll see if the data on our friend here leads us anywhere."

Brendan was taken aback. Before he could respond, however, the laptop Crew Cut was working at suddenly began to emit soft white noise. Everyone turned in his direction.

Gray Hair's brow furrowed in confusion and the younger scientist sighed. "It's still fuzzy," the latter said with a twinge of disappointment. "This doesn't tell us much."

"What's fuzzy!" Brendan suddenly burst out. He clenched his fists. "Seriously, what the hell's going on here? What do you want to know?"

Everyone ignored him. "What _does_ it tell us, then?" Rachel asked exasperatedly, running a hand through her hair.

"Just that he's giving off omega-2 waves," Gray Hair muttered, fiddling with the knobs some more. The white noise softened as he did so, accompanied now by a high-pitched hum. "A lot of them."

Rachel's face reddened with fury. "Oh," she sneered, continuing in a mocking tone. "He's _giving off omega-2 waves._ Just like every other living thing on the _planet!_" Her voice had risen to a roar.

"H-hang on, I wasn't finished explaining," the scientist stammered, recoiling from Rachel's wrath. "Th-the quantity is consistent with estimates for phase ten of the half-life. Or…it will be in about thirty seconds."

Rachel's frustration vanished instantly. "Phase…_ten?"_ Her voice softened, and Brendan noticed the hint of a genuine smile forming on her lips. "You're kidding me. We've never seen anything beyond phase twenty in any of the previous subjects." Brendan shivered. _Previous…subjects? What are these people doing?_

"I don't know how to explain it," Gray Hair continued enthusiastically. "From the moment he sat down, the quality of omega-2 waves has increased dramatically. Not only that, the length of the half-life itself…is increasing. It's like he's able to stabilize the omega-2 waves."

"I think we've got it, Rachel," Crew Cut eagerly added. "After all this time, we've finally found concrete proof to support the Residual Attraction Hypothesis. I mean, just _look_ at the charts−"

"Uh, what?" Brendan interrupted. "Seriously, start telling me what's going on here!"

Rachel and Gray Hair shared a glance, and she then turned to Brendan with a smirk. "To put it simply, Brendan, we think you're psychic," she said smugly.

Brendan didn't initially respond, giving Rachel a blank look. "_I_ think you're nuts," he answered flatly. "No way I'm psychic."

"Not psychic in the way you'd think," she continued. "You're giving off a certain type of energy called omega waves, which are a by-product created by the flow of energy that seems to surround all living things. Now, everything alive gives off omega waves, but some beings give them off in greater quantities, and in greater…how to put this…purity."

"Still don't get what this has to do with me−"

The white noise the machine was making faded out, and the high-pitched hum that had accompanied it suddenly lowered a few octaves, making a soft, pleasant sound not unlike a harp stringing. Everyone's eyes turned to the screen of Crew Cut's laptop.

"That's…that's _ether,"_ the young scientist said sotto voce. "Granted, a tiny, tiny amount, maybe a couple atto-joules at the most, but still."

Rachel smiled at Brendan again, showing her teeth. Brendan felt his blood turn to ice. "Ether," she said, a hint of triumph in her voice. "The primordial substance. We call it omega-1 energy, but that's not important. The point is, the Organization believes you might be of assistance in solving a very important puzzle."

Brendan's frown deepened as he straightened his back. "What puzzle would that be?" He had to admit he was slightly curious, more than anything so he could be prepared if they decided to perform more experiments on him. Painful experiments.

"Uh uh uh," Rachel said in a singsong voice, waving a finger at him. "That's a trade secret."

Brendan snorted. "Of course."

"Send this over to R and D," Rachel ordered Crew Cut. The younger man nodded, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop. "Oh, and make sure Michael knows about this _immediately−_"

A beeping sound coming from her vest cut her off. She pressed a button on the small round microphone at the neck of her uniform.

"Report," she said briskly.

"This is Bravo Seven, ma'am!" a panicked male voice shouted on the other end. "We're under attack! It's−" Bravo Seven's sudden yell crackled through the microphone as the ship gave a violent lurch. Equipment and personnel alike were knocked off balance, falling to the floor in a series of clashes and clatters. The lurch was so strong that it overturned the leather chair; Brendan's instincts were the only thing that made him roll away in time and prevented him from being skewered by the metal rods. He wasn't looking where he was going, though, and before he knew it, he'd crashed headfirst into the wall of a boiler.

Rachel's eyes flashed as the scene rapidly descended into chaos. "Bravo Seven!" she cried. "Come in!" There was no response save for a hissing white noise.

"…interference…" his voice suddenly cut through the static. "…extremely hostile…_hey, let go!"_

She didn't need any further encouragement. Pressing another button on the mic, she ordered: "Code Red. Alpha and Bravo Squads to the boiler room, we're retreating. Over and out!"

* * *

Brendan massaged his throbbing head, the pain in his body competing with anger. He'd been roughed up, then tossed about like a rag doll, and he'd had enough. _Someone's attacking this Organization or whatever up on deck, _he thought, relief mixing in with his other emotions. _It's gotta be someone coming to rescue us!_

He steadily got onto his feet, his eyes wincing as he fought to overcome the pain in his head. Surveying the scene in front of him, he noticed the scientists hastily pack up what equipment of theirs was still in good condition.

"Leave it, Alpha Five," Rachel barked to an intern who was folding up a plastic table. She was surveying the scene cautiously, though neither her eyes nor her body language betrayed any panic. "That goes for everyone. Only the essentials." She disconnected the red wire from the wrecked chair and handed it to the older scientist, who stuffed it into a gray bag. Gray Hair gave the chair a longing glance.

"It's beyond repair," Rachel hissed. "Come on, let's beat it!"

"But−" the scientist tried to argue.

"Bravo Squad can take care of themselves. Now hurry up!" She put on her helmet, strapping her goggles to a niche on the side of her left sleeve. None of the scientists gave her any more objections; within seconds, they'd packed up and disappeared behind a row of boilers. Brendan vaguely wondered why they weren't fleeing up the metal stairs, surmising that they must have made a breach through the hull to facilitate their escape.

Rachel unclipped two Pokéballs from her belt and cast a glance back at Brendan as she followed the scientists out. "Normally, I'd have you escorted with us," she said, her lips curling into a sneer, "but things have taken an unexpected turn, as you see. Don't worry, Brendan. Your rescue team should be here promptly."

Brendan returned her glance with his trademark smirk, a fire burning in his ruby eyes. It was the look he gave his opponents before battle. "Who says I'll need 'em?" he taunted. "It'll be a fair fight now without your grunts to back you up." In a single movement, he swiped Lear's Pokéball from his belt and flung it out in front of him. "Let's do this!" The large blue Pokémon emerged from his confines with a flash, roaring as he stared down the Trainer's opponent. Lear smacked his front paws together in anticipation of the challenge.

Rachel chuckled, shaking her head slightly as though in pity. "You really don't know what you're getting into, do you, kid? But, since you insist…" She allowed her voice to trail off as she flicked one of the Pokéballs she was holding in front of her. The powerful Feraligatr Brendan had seen earlier emerged once more, rumbling a low "_Gatorrrrr."_

For a moment, Trainer and Pokémon faced their opponents, a trickle of sweat running down Brendan's cheek. As the last of the scientists vanished around the boilers, Brendan decided to get in the first strike. "Mud Shot!" he ordered. His smirk faded as he gritted his teeth. Bravado was alright, but once the battle started, he had to use his head. _We're at a slight type disadvantage with Lear being part-Ground, and Feraligatr looks like a fairly strong Water-type on top of that. We'll have to think smart to beat it._

But Rachel reacted immediately. "Block it with Water Gun!" she ordered. As Lear shot a brown jet of mud at Feraligatr, the Big Jaw Pokémon reacted by firing a condensed stream of water from its mouth. Lear's Mud Shot was barely half a metre from Feraligatr's snout when the latter's Water Gun met it head on. The impact caused dirty water to fly everywhere, spraying Feraligatr the most due to its proximity to the attacks.

_We'll have to move in closer, _Brendan thought as he analyzed the situation. _I was hoping to avoid that, but Feraligatr's faster than I thought. It'll counter anything we throw at it from afar. _"Move in and use Brick Break!" he ordered, coming to a quick decision.

Rachel, though, appeared to have anticipated his plan. "Hydro Pump," she said calmly.

"Good," Brendan said as Feraligatr's mouth slowly filled with icy water. Lear narrowed in on Feraligatr, making sure to dart left and right so as to present a moving target and make it difficult for the other's attack to hit. "It'll take a second or two to charge up−"

"Now!" Rachel ordered. A torrent of water suddenly gushed out of Feraligatr's mouth with a gargled roar. Before Brendan understood what had happened, the Hydro Pump had slammed right into Lear, sending the Mud Fish spiralling into the air. He hit a boiler with a loud metallic clang.

"No!" Brendan yelled, his eyes on his Pokémon. Lear was leaning against the boiler with his back, his dorsal fin squished to the right. He grunted as he forced himself to stand up, pushing against the metal wall with his front paws. Feraligatr narrowed its eyes and returned to a fighting stance, ready to execute the next attack.

The order for which came almost immediately.

"Slash," said Rachel.

With shocking agility, Feraligatr raced across the boiler room. Lear had recovered by now. He stood on its hind legs and prepared a defensive stance. _Feraligatr's moving awfully fast, _Brendan noticed. _Rachel's trained it well. _With that sobering thought in mind, Brendan gulped, waiting for the opportune moment for Lear to strike.

"Now!" Rachel barked. As it came just within striking distance of Lear, Feraligatr's right paw suddenly glowed white, and it brought a sharp claw down onto Lear's face…

But the Mud Fish had been prepared for such a strategy all along. With speed surpassing Feraligatr's, he thrust his right arm up and successfully blocked the Slash with a Brick Break. "Nice, Lear!" Brendan cheered, in response to which Rachel chuckled once more.

"Isn't it a bit soon to be celebrating?" she said irritatingly. "Feraligatr…Slash."

"Hmm…" Brendan grunted, his brow furrowing. While the two Pokémon's right arms pushed against each other in a deadlock, Feraligatr's left paw began to glow, and it brought it upward in a raking motion.

In the next second, Lear lowered his right paw and used it to push away Feraligatr's left, then ducked under the Big Jaw's original Slash. As he quickly sidestepped to Feraligatr's left flank, Brendan yelled out, "Mud Slap!" Without even needing the order, Lear generated a small amount of dirt in his right paw and hurled it in his opponent's face.

_"Gaaaator!"_ Feraligatr protested, wincing as particles of dirt flew in its eyes.

"Take Down, before it can recover!" Brendan continued. Lear bent his hind legs and then bounced forward to tackle Feraligatr.

"Water Gun," Rachel ordered briskly, her face morphing into a cold mask. Feraligatr shot another jet of water which hit Lear right in the face just as he was about to slam into his opponent. Nonetheless, Lear stood firm, steadily angling himself so that the Water Gun would hit the crown of his head instead.

"Good job, Lear!" said Brendan, clenching a fist. "Use your head fin to split the Water Gun in two!"

"Now Aqua Tail," Rachel said softly, surprising Brendan. In an instant, Feraligatr stopped its Water Gun attack and swivelled in place to deliver a striking blow to Lear with its tail. The film of water which had formed around Feraligatr's tail gave the attack an extra boost, making it strong enough to send Lear hurtling straight into Brendan's path. Brendan scrambled to get out of the way, but slipped as he ran, sliding to a stop as Lear flew overhead and landed with a small splash of water a few metres away.

A splash of water…

He realized what had happened. Feraligatr's speed, and why he'd tripped just now. Feraligatr's Water-based attacks had made the floor wet. A wet metal floor, Brendan reasoned, would be slick as an ice skating rink, and Rachel had been capitalizing on it all along by having Feraligatr skate to sharply increase its speed.

"Which means we'll do the same!" Brendan said out loud. He got back up, positioning his footing carefully so that he wouldn't slip again. "Lear, get a Brick Break ready and glide toward Feraligatr!"

Rachel chuckled again. "You were bound to figure it out eventually. Not that it'll do you much good. Feraligatr, Hydro Pump!"

"Dodge it, Lear!" Brendan ordered in reaction. He could hear Feraligatr's deep intake of breath from where he stood. Clearly, it was preparing for a powerful attack. Lear narrowly dodged the Hydro Pump as it was released with terrifying force, and thrust a glowing paw into Feraligatr's underbelly. The blow knocked the Big Jaw Pokémon on its back and it slid across the floor in a heap.

Rachel kept smiling. His Swampert had reacted faster to the Hydro Pump than she'd anticipated. _Not bad. But it'll take far more than that to bring Feraligatr down. _Both Trainers looked on as Feraligatr steadily got to its feet, a low growl emanating from its half-opened jaws.

"Time to go on the offensive," Rachel hissed. "Use Agility and follow up with Crunch on my signal." Feraligatr began skating toward its opponent.

"But how!" Brendan exclaimed as Feraligatr's speed gained another sharp boost. _I didn't know Feraligatr could use Agility! Between that and the water on the floor…man, we can't afford a single mistake._ He hastily made a decision. "Lear, keep it at bay with Mud Shot!" The Mud Fish Pokémon immediately hurled a stream of mud from his mouth, keeping his eyes fixed on his opponent's position. Feraligatr's superior speed, though, allowed it to dodge every Mud Shot Lear threw at it; within seconds, it was within striking distance.

"Dodge!" Brendan ordered. "Slide away!"

Just as Feraligatr's jaws were about to clamp down on Lear's arm, he sidestepped and used the momentum to help him slide a fair distance from the other Pokémon.

"Turn and use Mud Shot again!" Brendan ordered. Lear swivelled again and fired another Mud Shot.

"I don't think so," Rachel sneered. "Jump and aim a Hydro Pump at the floor, straight down!" In one fluid movement, Feraligatr flexed its hindquarters and leapt up in the air, dodging the Mud Shot. At the apex of its jump, it spewed a torrent of water from its mouth which hit the floor with a crash, the intensity of which raised a curtain of spray and mist. However, the Hydro Pump also propelled Feraligatr into the air. The Big Jaw Pokémon appeared to be flying as it rose ever higher. Brendan's eyes, though, were on Lear, who was wiping away dirt created by his own Mud Shot from his eyes.

"Now, to finish this," Rachel said softly. Her green eyes glinted with triumph. "Rebound with a Superpower!"

Brendan momentarily shifted his gaze and tilted his head back to look up at Feraligatr. Rachel's Pokémon had risen all the way to the ceiling, off which it now rebounded with a thrust of its legs. Both its arms glowed a fiery orange, making it resemble a blue missile as it sped toward Lear. Brendan's eyes widened in horror. If Feraligatr hit Lear with such a powerful attack at that speed…

"Get out of the way!" he screamed, drawing an amused snicker from Rachel. _She's enjoying this, the sadistic bitch._ Lear hurriedly tried to skate away, a look of fear in his orange eyes, but both he and Brendan knew he couldn't avoid the impact of Feraligatr's attack. At that speed, they'd be lucky if Feraligatr didn't sink the ship.

Without being ordered to, Lear prepared another Brick Break and faced the airborne Feraligatr head-on. "No!" Brendan roared. But the Swampert didn't pay any heed to his Trainer's concerns, and the two Pokémon collided with a sickening, fleshy thud. The impact their attacks made was so powerful that it sent vibrations throughout the ship and caused it to wobble. Brendan wanted to close his eyes, but found himself transfixed on the action in front of him. A relieved smile formed on his face as he saw that Lear was actually holding its own against Feraligatr's seemingly unstoppable attack. More than that, he seemed to be pushing back the Big Jaw Pokémon.

"How did…?" Brendan murmured in amazement. He noticed that the glow from Brick Break had spread to Lear's upper arm and deltoid, turning a bright red. "I've heard of that move. That's Hammer Arm!" He noticed to his pleasure that Rachel was beginning to worry. The smug expression had vanished from her face, replaced with a sceptical frown.

Lear and he were gaining the upper hand. Now, if they could just carry that momentum to victory. "Great job, Lear!" Brendan shouted encouragingly. He'd worked out what Lear had to do. "Now, push Feraligatr off!" Lear dug his heels into the floor, his slimy skin absorbing the water and making it easier to hold his ground, and pushed hard against Feraligatr's glowing claws with his Hammer Arm.

"Not so fast," Rachel said icily. "Feraligatr, call off the attack." Brendan's breath caught in his throat as Feraligatr leaped back, causing Lear to involuntarily slide forward under the momentum of his Hammer Arm.

"And Crunch its right arm!"

Rachel's order came seconds after Feraligatr had retreated; the Big Jaw Pokémon sprang forward again with that amazing speed, and Brendan did the only thing he could think of at that moment. "Brick Break with your left to block it!" he ordered.

Lear's reaction was as quick as his Trainer's. He pivoted on the spot, moving his right arm out of the range of Feraligatr's mighty jaws. Feraligatr bit down on Lear's left arm – hard. Even protected by Brick Break, Lear winced as he felt the power of the other Pokémon's blunt teeth sink into his flesh.

"What now, Brendan?" Rachel laughed. "Your Swampert's trapped."

Brendan gritted his teeth. _She's right. If Lear stops its Brick Break, Feraligatr's Crunch will shred his arm. We're done for. Unless…_

"Lear, use Brick Break on your other arm, too!" the young Trainer ordered.

"As if we weren't expecting that," said Rachel. "Pin its other arm down, Feraligatr."

But Feraligatr was too slow this time. Lear swatted away its right arm with his left, which had begun to glow with a Brick Break as well. Though this weakened the Brick Break in his other arm, Lear was still able to hold on, growling in pain as Feraligatr's Crunch tore through his skin. He chopped the other Pokémon hard on the side of its head, causing it to loosen its jaws.

"Perfect," said Brendan, the smile returning to his face. Lear wrung his right arm free of the Crunch and delivered a series of chops to its opponent's arms and chest with Brick Break. Rachel stared in shock as her Pokémon took blow after blow. Lear finished off with a strike from both his arms to Feraligatr's belly, and his opponent fell to the ground with a thud.

Rachel growled in frustration as another lurch rocked the ship, and Brendan realized that there were more battles going on upstairs. He hoped his rescuers, if they were such, would arrive soon. Meanwhile, Feraligatr gingerly got to its feet again. Both it and Lear were panting hard as they faced one another, boring holes into each other's eyes; it was only a matter of time before one of them fainted from exhaustion.

For Brendan, that meant trying out a new strategy. "Move in close to Feraligatr!" he told his Pokémon.

If Rachel thought it was odd that Brendan hadn't called out an attack, she didn't show it. "Water Gun!" she ordered.

_Trying to conserve her Pokémon's strength,_ Brendan thought. _In any case, this was just what we needed!_ "Lear, use Ice Beam on that Water Gun!" he called out. Rachel's features twisted into shock once more as Lear came to a stop and emitted icy blue tendrils from his mouth. Feraligatr's Water Gun didn't even resist the Ice Beam, instantly froze into a giant pillar of ice. "Now finish off with Brick Break!" Brendan shouted, the excitement evident in his voice.

Rachel waited for Lear to approach Feraligatr, then ordered: "Aqua Tail!" Feraligatr swung a water-coated tail to meet Lear's Brick Break. The two attacks collided, neither Pokémon giving way in the struggle.

The sound of the door at the top of the stairs opening caused both combatants to turn their heads in that direction. Brendan had hoped for a second that whoever was fighting the soldiers had made it down here, but his heart sank when he saw that it was the soldiers themselves. "Crap," he said out loud as at least twenty armed men and women descended the staircase, their boots clanging on metal. Most of them, he noticed, had at least one Pokéball on hand.

"Well, isn't this great timing!" Rachel said with mock cheer. She motioned airily to her squad. "I suggest your Swampert give up now, Brendan. Or Bravo Squad here will cut it to pieces." She frowned when she saw Brendan wasn't even paying attention to her.

"Lear," he said, his voice quavering. "Keep 'em busy." He turned to face the soldiers, gulped, and unclipped the other two Pokéballs from his belt. Lear and Feraligatr continued their struggle, trading blow after blow of Brick Break and Aqua Tail respectively. Locked in their battle, victory had become a matter of pride for both Pokémon, and nothing was going to distract them.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath. "If I just had a full team…"

Rachel really laughed then, a cold, high-pitched sound. "You aren't _seriously_ thinking of taking on the entire squad, are you?"

Brendan's response was to release Nathair and Chimecho from their Pokéballs. The Seviper hissed threateningly upon getting his first glimpse of his enemies, coiling his long, black body and swishing his bladelike tail. Chimecho, however, looked to be terrified. Brendan sighed. He knew this would happen, as this would be the Wind Chime Pokémon's first real battle.

_"Chiiiiiiime!"_ she wailed anxiously.

"It'll be fine, Chimecho," Brendan reassured her. "I just need you to keep these guys busy."

"I guess you're determined to do this the hard way," Rachel said with after another cruel laugh. "Bravo Squad…deal with him."

On her orders, the soldiers surrounded Brendan in a semi-circular formation, trapping him between them and their boss. Those who had Pokéballs tossed them in the air; out of numerous flashes of white light emerged three Golbat, six Mightyena, five Electrode, and two Golduck. All Pokémon looked as though they had just been through a rough battle: their bodies were covered in dirt and scratches, and they were all breathing heavily. Brendan's panic dissipated somewhat. If his potential rescuers had tired them out, he might be able to distract them long enough, at least until help arrived.

Out of the corner of his eye, Brendan saw Lear send Feraligatr careening into a boiler with Hammer Arm. "Nathair, distract the Pokémon on the ground with Haze!" he ordered. "Chimecho, Psywave those Golbat and keep 'em from blowing the Haze away!"

As he'd trained them to, Brendan's Pokémon sprang into action immediately. The Fang Snake Pokémon exhaled a thick cloud of gray fog which instantly rolled over to cover his enemies. Brendan smiled wryly at the sounds of coughing and frantic movement from behind the fog. _That'll keep 'em busy for a while. _Meanwhile, Chimecho rose into the air to meet the Golbat, who were already flapping their wings in an attempt to dispel Nathair's Haze. The Chime Pokémon generated a rainbow-coloured wave which the Golbat avoided by flying off in three different directions. "Great!" Brendan cheered, eagerly watching his newest team member. "Now Psybeam them as they approach!"

While Chimecho fought off the Golbat with Psybeams, Brendan momentarily returned his attention to Lear and Feraligatr, who were staring each other down. Both Pokémon were exhausted at this point, standing up through sheer force of will. Neither he nor Rachel gave any orders as they waited for one or both Pokémon to collapse. Behind him, a Golbat fainted from Chimecho's repeated Psybeams, making a thud as it fell to the ground. Still, Brendan kept his eyes on Lear, knowing Chimecho would be able to handle two worn-out Golbat just fine.

The zapping sound of electric charges being fired behind him was enough to turn his attention back to the soldiers, though. Nathair's haze had worn off, and now the soldiers' Electrode were firing Thunderbolts at Chimecho. A tingle passed through Brendan's body as sparks from the attack travelled through the water on the floor.

"Idiots!" Rachel cursed. "Can't you see the floor's wet? In a _metal_ room, moreover? That means _no _Electric attacks!" Apparently, she'd been hit by static, too. Now that the Haze had lifted, though, her earlier confidence returned. The Electrode ceased fire, teaming up with the Mightyena and Golduck to surround Nathair. Brendan clenched his fists. Nathair wouldn't be able to hold off thirteen Pokémon on its own. Chimecho was doing what it could to keep the other two Golbat at bay, but that wouldn't last for long.

It was over. Painful as it was, Brendan would have to admit defeat. It was better than having his Pokémon decimated.

"They're in here!" a female voice suddenly cried out from the top of the staircase. No one had time to react before an orange beam of light tore a hole through the vertical bars. A man with wild red hair suddenly appeared through the smoke of this latest attack, momentarily glancing below. He wore a dark blue jacket and pants, along with black boots and a cape of the same colour that was attached to his jacket by two golden hoops at the shoulders. Two more people, both women, edged behind him and rushed down the stairs. The first was an aquamarine-haired woman dressed in a dark blue police uniform with a knee-length skirt, and Brendan recognized her as an Officer Jenny. The second woman had long, light blue hair; she wore a dark gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of jean shorts, and dark teal hiking boots with shin-length white socks.

"Let's go, Dragonite!" called the red-haired man, tossing a Pokéball through the hole in the bars. Brendan's jaw dropped as he leaped over the railing and hurtled toward the floor. At the last minute, a Pokémon burst from the ball and caught him in midair with an oomph. Everyone's eyes were on the Dragonite as it glided to the floor. The Dragon Pokémon had light orange, scaly skin on most of its body save for its prodigious white underbelly and the front of its dark bluish-green wings. It had a cheerful, dopey face with large, friendly eyes and a round snout. On top of its head were two antennae and a small, pointy horn in the centre. It had short, stubby arms with three claws on each hand; similarly, its large thighs culminated in short feet, with three claws each as well. Finally, the back of its body ended in a thick tail.

Officer Jenny and her companion reached the foot of the stairs, a Pokéball in each woman's hand. "Lance, you take these guys," Jenny said with a nod to the red-haired Dragonite Trainer. "Clair and I will head off the leader."

"Right," the man called Lance answered, nodding back. With a glance at his Dragonite, he ordered, "Take their Pokémon out with another Hyper Beam!"

_"Barooooo!"_ the Dragon Pokémon bellowed in response, a ball of yellow light forming in its mouth. Brendan saw what was about to happen. "Nathair, Chimecho! Return!" he said, extending both his arms and recalling his Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Rachel's face lost all emotion. "Retreat," she ordered in a falsely calm tone of voice. Her soldiers made to recall their own Pokémon, but they weren't fast enough. A second after Rachel gave the command, a column of intense saffron light shot out of Dragonite's mouth. With impressive skill, it managed to sustain the Hyper Beam while moving the attack around to catch all of its targets. Most of the soldiers' Pokémon were caught in the blast, the impact sending them flying every which way. Brendan shrunk back, leaning on the side of a boiler for support. Defeated, the soldiers recalled their fallen battlers and fled in the same direction the scientists had gone earlier, passing Rachel as they headed for the row of boilers behind her. Rachel quickly recalled Feraligatr, shooting Brendan a wry smile as she joined her subordinates.

Brendan glared back, then took the opportunity to recall Lear. "You were amazing out there, buddy," he spoke proudly into the Pokéball. "Hang in there. We'll get you all rested up soon." He held the sphere to his chest for a moment before clipping it back onto his belt.

Meanwhile, Jenny and her companion Clair were already on the move. The former released a majestic Arcanine while the latter raced past Brendan, attempting to flank the routing soldiers from the right. Brendan considered having Lear tackle Rachel to stop her, but then thought better of it and released Nathair again. Either way, he wasn't going to let her get away after what she'd done.

"Stop her, Nathair!" Brendan yelled. The Fang Snake Pokémon slithered toward Rachel all too eagerly.

Rachel, though, proved to be prepared. "Deal with them, Starmie!" she retorted as she flicked another Pokéball ahead of her. The light purple, star-shaped Pokémon Brendan had seen on deck made another appearance as it burst out of its ball with a flash of light and a hollow _"Hyah!"_ Rachel then backed up, approaching the row of boilers where a couple of her soldiers still waited.

Clair then sprang into action. "Dragonair!" she called out, releasing a long, serpent-like creature with cerulean blue scales. It had a white underbelly and a horn in the centre of its head, just like its evolution Dragonite. Devoid of a visible nose or mouth, its only other features were the tiny white wings on each side of its head, its fluid black eyes, and the crystalline orb on its neck.

Rachel darted glances back and forth between Brendan, Clair, and Jenny, the last of whom was approaching from her right. With a smirk, she ordered, "Ice Beam on Seviper and Dragonair!" Nathair and the smaller Dragon-type slithered out of the way barely in time to dodge the icy energy Starmie emitted from the red octagonal jewel in its centre.

It was Jenny's turn to attack next, and she did so without giving her opponent to rest. "Cut her off with Extremespeed!" the policewoman ordered her Arcanine. The enormous, orange-and-black striped dog barked excitedly, eager for a taste of the action. With Jenny following, it bounded toward Rachel in great strides, and had almost reached her when Starmie fired a series of Water Guns to hold it back. Zigzagging to dodge the bursts of water, it seemed to float as it dashed first past Starmie and then past Rachel, blocking the other woman's escape with its sheer bulk. It growled ominously, baring its sharp teeth.

Rachel had reached the end of her rope.

Or so it seemed.

Jenny glanced up at the red-haired man, who had mounted his Dragonite again and was surveying the scene from above. "Can you see anything past those boilers, Lance?" she asked him. Brendan felt a twinge of recognition at that name when she said it a second time. _Could it be…Lance from the Pokémon G-Men, _he wondered.

They've blown a hole in the hull!" he answered, his voice laced with concern. "From the looks of it, they must have a base somewhere in the ocean. I'm guessing a sub, since we didn't see a boat on the way in. Whatever we do, we can't let her get out."

Jenny met Rachel's gaze once more. "This is your last chance!" she warned, pulling a pair of handcuffs from her uniform. "Give yourself up now!"

Rachel chuckled. "Please. You actually think I'll do that?"

"You're cornered!" Lance warned. "How do you think you can escape now?" Rachel's only response was to chuckle. Something about that confidence unnerved Brendan. _She sure is confident, even when she clearly has nowhere to run._

For a small moment, Brendan sensed what transpired next. But before he or anyone else could act, Starmie fired a surprise Ice Beam at Nathair, hitting the Fang Snake dead on and freezing it where it stood. The shock distracted everyone, worst of all Arcanine, and that second was enough time for Rachel to slide underneath it and make a mad dash behind the boilers.

"Follow her!" Jenny ordered Arcanine. The large dog bounded after Rachel while Brendan rushed to Nathair's side. He clenched his fists, seeing the thin layer of ice that encased his Pokémon. Hanging his head low, he wordlessly recalled Nathair.

"That cheating little…" he growled under his breath, the rest of his sentence trailing off. He stared at his Seviper's Pokéball with a pained expression. "I'm so sorry, buddy," he said softly. "I never thought she'd pull a stunt like that." His face hardening, he reattached the capsule to his belt and followed Jenny and her companion around the row of boilers. He spotted a narrow passage up ahead, lit by the faint orange glow of the sunset streaming through a rectangular breach in the hull. At the very edge stood Rachel, her eyes covered by her green goggles. With a last mocking smile, Starmie and she plunged backward over the edge and vanished from sight.

It was too late. Jenny hung her head low as they walked sombrely to the breach. All that was left of their quarry was a white froth of bubbles in the water below, gentle ripples flowing out from the centre.

"We were so close…" she muttered as Clair, Lance, and Brendan joined her.

"I'll take Gyarados, see if she's still around," Lance said in a businesslike tone. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We did our best," he continued in a gentler voice. "That we even came _this_ close is astonishing, considering it's the Organization we're dealing with."

Brendan gave him a pointed look, which he didn't notice. _So these guys know who Rachel and her goons were._

"You sure you can handle it on your own?" said Jenny. "You've only got one Water-type. Clair should go with you."

Lance smiled. "That's probably a good idea." He called out a Gyarados, which Brendan was surprised to see was red instead of the usual blue. The Atrocious Pokémon emerged in the turgid waters below with a roar.

"I'll come too!" Brendan offered.

"_You_ aren't going anywhere except Coastline City," Clair said firmly. "Besides, I think Jenny here has a few questions to ask you."

"This is G-Men business," said Lance, trying to comfort Brendan upon seeing a scowl on the other's face. "Please try to understand. We can't just allow anyone to interfere."

"You guys are G-Men?" Brendan asked, his scowl replaced by a curious look.

"We need to go, Lance," Clair urged.

"Right. Take care, young man." Lance whirled around with a flourish and leaped through the hole onto Gyarados' back.

"We'll keep you informed, Jenny," Clair added with a nod as she followed the red-haired man. Brendan and Jenny watched silently as Gyarados swam away, leaving a V-shaped trail of white foam in its wake.

"Let's go back upstairs," Jenny said finally.

"Right," Brendan responded.

* * *

Moments later, Brendan was sitting on the bed of his cabin, with Jenny having taken the chair and sitting across from him. The officer held a clipboard and pen in one hand.

Jenny initiated conversation. "I've alerted the Coast Guard," she said. "They've sent some rescue ships over which will arrive in about half an hour."

"That's good to hear," Brendan replied. "Is everyone else here alright?"

"Pretty much." Jenny put one leg over the other. "We've put out the fire the explosion caused. There were only a few injuries, and no deaths whatsoever. Very similar to the Organization's previous attacks."

"So what _is_ this Organization?" Brendan asked, the exasperation in his voice not lost on the police officer. "And why'd they single me out?"

"First things first," said Jenny. "What's your name?"

"Brendan Birch," he answered plainly.

The corners of her lips creased into a smile. "You wouldn't happen to be Professor Birch's boy, by any chance?"

"That's me," Brendan confirmed proudly, smiling back.

"Well, Brendan, you asked why they singled you out," Jenny continued. "See, we don't actually know that ourselves. We've been trying to find out what their motives are for some time now."

Brendan blinked. "You mean they've been around before now? For how long?"

"About ten years, actually," Jenny said with a sigh. "I'll tell you more later. Tell me, though, what exactly did they do to you down in the boilers?"

"They thought I was…I dunno, psychic or something like that," Brendan blurted, speaking quickly. "They talked about a lot of things that didn't make sense, like the Residual something-or-other and−"

"Hold on a minute," Jenny interrupted, holding up a hand. "One thing at a time. I'm assuming this Rachel woman was the leader of this little operation."

"Looked like it," Brendan mumbled, deflating somewhat as he crossed his legs on the bed. "She was the one ordering everyone else around. She had a group of scientists with her. They left before you guys came by. Didn't really ask any questions as much as they fiddled around with those machines…" Brendan spent the next half hour describing his experience, calmly and clearly. He told the policewoman everything he could think of, down to the tiniest detail. He noticed her expression blanching at times, particularly when he mentioned the chair and omega particles.

"They got really excited right about the time before you and the others attacked them," he said softly. "Said I was giving off ether." At that moment, Jenny became rigid and dropped the pen she was writing with, but Brendan didn't notice as he continued his recollection. "It was…how'd she call it…the primary, no, primoral…"

"The primordial substance," Jenny filled in for him, picking up her pen from the floor.

"Yeah, that!" said Brendan. "Then, Rachel said I might be the key to solving a puzzle for the Organization."

"A puzzle, eh?" Jenny looked the young man in the eye. She sighed, then continued solemnly: "It seems the Organization has grander plans in mind than we expected. We've been getting reports of similar things happening throughout the world, not just in Johto. Every time, they go after a single person and every time, they decide he or she isn't the one they're looking for. All of the people kidnapped by the Organization mention similar situations. However, this is the first time they've done something on this scale. Usually, it's a simple kidnapping. Or they even masquerade as legitimate scientists and trick people into becoming their lab Rattata. This time, it's like they're trying to make a statement. This leads me to believe they're becoming more active, upping their game."

Brendan listened to her carefully. "Let me know if I can help take 'em down," he said when she was finished, the fire back in his voice. "My friend and I did some major damage against Aqua and Magma back in Hoenn."

Jenny chuckled. "I could say you're both extremely irresponsible. But from what it looked like, you nearly took down one of Rachel's Pokémon, and even held your own against her troops. You appear to have great potential."

Brendan laughed back, trying not to let his head inflate and failing miserably. "What can I say?" he said, scratching the back of his head. "I'm challenging the Johto League, and I'll hopefully win the championship there."

"You'll have to beat Clair to do that," Jenny answered, her tone becoming less formal. "She was the lady who was with me and Lance today, and she's the leader of the Blackthorn Gym in Johto." "Seriously!" Brendan momentarily put aside his worries about the Organization as excitement for his impending challenge washed over him. "Man, I can't wait to battle her!"

"You'll have your work cut out for you," Jenny replied with a laugh. "Clair recently joined the G-Men, too."

"Hmm." Now it made sense. "So this _was_ a G-Men op. No wonder I thought I recognized Lance."

Jenny nodded. "You see how seriously governments are taking this Organization." She put her clipboard into a dark blue purse at her side and stood up. "Be careful, Brendan. They may try to target you again."

"Don't worry, I'll be ready," Brendan answered seriously, getting to his feet in turn. "They won't get the better of me next time, that's for sure."

Jenny said nothing. She merely giving him one last smile, as though to say she had confidence in his abilities, and gently closed the door behind her as she left.

* * *

**Couple things to note. First, the nicknames of Brendan's Pokémon (if he gives them one) have a Celtic theme to them. 'Lear' is a variation of Llyr, an ancient Welsh sea god; 'nathair,' on the other hand, is a Celtic word meaning 'serpent.' Second, the Omega Squad has been changed to the Bravo Squad to avoid confusion with the omega waves.**

**Once again, a huge thank you goes to my awesome beta, Wanderer Bard, for all the work he's put into helping me refine this story. I'd also like to thank everyone who read and reviewed Ch. 1, as well as anyone who continues to read IAWNW. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
**


	3. Arrival in Johto

**Chapter 3: Arrival in Johto**

A ray of mid-morning light filtered through the round window of May's cabin, reflected in the full-length mirror on the inside of the closet door. May pushed the door back slightly to remove the harsh glare of sunlight and stared at her reflection. She giggled to herself, pleased at what she saw. A girl of average height stared back at her, shoulder-length light brown hair parted in the middle and pushed to either side, a pair of deep blue eyes shining like sapphires on her youthful face.

May had decided to try on her new travelling apparel this morning, admiring the way her clothing and accessories fit her just right. She wore a bright orange sleeveless shirt that widened into a short skirt as it ended at her thighs. Her top had a wide black collar and a white half-Pokéball design on either side; it was bisected in the middle by a white zipper. May also wore black jogging shorts with socks and fingerless gloves of the same colour, and a pair of orange sneakers on her feet to match her top. She had foregone the backpack she used to carry in Hoenn and Kanto for a green handbag which hung at her waist by a fabric strap.

She furrowed her eyebrows. Something was missing. She tried to think what it could be until she realized her head felt awfully bare.

"That's right!" she said out loud, twisting to open her handbag. She felt a soft, cloth material at the very top and with a smile, took out the new green bandanna Mom had given her as a present. Bringing it to her face, she suddenly stopped. With a sigh, she flicked an unruly hair from her forehead back into place as she slowly brought the bandanna around her head. Tying a firm knot in the back, her mind drifted to those moments three days ago when she'd said goodbye to her parents and Max.

The closest port from Petalburg with service to Johto was the tiny sailors' den and tourist trap of Sunspot Village. The whole family had driven there to see May off. With a sharp exhale, she remembered how her little brother hadn't bothered to hide his tears and had given her a big hug. Mom told her to be careful, since she'd be travelling on her own now; Dad, on the other hand, wore a proud smile, confident that his little girl would do great in the Johto Contests.

Still, it was with a heavy heart that May had boarded the _S.S. Kyogre _for Coastline City, just before the eastern border with Kanto. _I miss Ash yelling at me in the mornings about spending too much time in front of the mirror,_ she thought with a smile as she looked at her reflection. _And Brock's delicious cooking…my mouth waters just thinking about it!_

May mechanically slipped her fingers through her new open-fingered gloves. _It hasn't even been three weeks since I left Kanto, and it feels like three years since I last saw the guys. Sure, I told Ash and Brock I was okay travelling on my own, but…_

Her hands unconsciously balled into fists as she fought a sudden pang of nostalgia. _Oh, what's the use? I don't think I'll _ever _get used to this! I−_

"Good morning, ladies, gentlemen, and Pokémon," a voice crackled over the PA system. May jerked her head, abruptly snapping out of her reverie. _That's the captain's voice._

"We will be docking in Coastline City in approximately half an hour," the captain continued. "In the meantime, we would invite you to view the breathtaking Tohjo Falls, which can be seen from the port side. Please exercise caution as having too many people on one side will compromise the ship's balance…"

May hurriedly closed the zipper on her handbag and pushed it back to her side. She rushed out of her room and through the cabin's corridor. The ship was already bustling with passengers, their shoes making a clacking sound as they ran on the hardwood floor. Any thought of Ash and Brock was temporarily forgotten, replaced by a bubbling enthusiasm to catch her first glimpse of Johto. Mingling with the crowd, she made her way up the steps and onto the deck outside. A fair number of people had gathered by the fence to her right, eagerly taking photographs.

Squeezing through the mass of the people to the front, she could see why. The Tohjo Falls, marking the southernmost border between Johto and Kanto, were beyond breathtaking: truly, a shimmering wall of water, cascading into the ocean with a mighty roar she could hear even from this distance. Dense forests surrounded the top of the falls, perched precariously on a sheer rock face overlooking broad, sandy beaches on both sides.

"I just have to take a picture!" May squealed, digging through her backpack. She fished out her own camera, a small silver Coronet X810, barely noticing the person she elbowed aside in the process.

"Hey, do you mind?" said an irritated voice to her right as she was about to take a photo.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, looking to see who had spoken to her. "I wasn't−"

SNAP! A sudden flash momentarily blinded May. She winced, blinking rapidly to restore her sight. A boy of about fifteen stood in front of her. His brow furrowed as he looked down, stormy gray eyes intensely focused on his large and seemingly ancient black camera. He muttered something to himself quietly.

"What was _that _for!" May protested. She looked the kid over with an angry stare. He had a skinny build, the dull pink T-shirt and faded jeans he wore a couple sizes too big for him. His light brown hair was cropped at the sides and back, with long wavy curls covering the top.

"Damn, this isn't what I wanted," the boy said, still facing his camera and fiddling with it some more. "You look totally clueless, and with the Remoraid in the background…ugh, it's like some cheesy _Sinnoh Cake_ poster, Part a hundred or whatever it is they're at now."

"Well!" May huffed. No way was she going to let this joker get to her, not when she was minutes away from a new adventure. At the same, she'd teach him a lesson. She put on her best poker face, ready to give him a lecture he'd never forget.

Scarcely had she opened her mouth when another flash interrupted her.

"Wha…" she said, her voice trailing off with surprise. Regaining her vision, she saw that the boy's face had lit up.

"This is _perfect,"_ he said to himself, holding what looked to be a photo in one hand and his camera in the other. He looked back at May. "Much better than before. The falls…the Remoraid…the natural look on your face…everything's perfect!"

"Who _are_ you?" May demanded, all attempts at diplomacy vanishing. The boy looked up from his camera abruptly, as though just realizing she was there. "And what's with that Stone Age camera?"

"Oh, this?" the boy answered benignly as he twisted the camera around. To her surprise, May saw that it wasn't a film camera at all: a sharp digital screen took up most of the right-hand side and was flanked a complicated array of buttons and knobs. "This is a state-of-the-art pro photographer's camera. There's a compartment under here," –he motioned with his index finger– "which instantly develops the photos. Here!" He handed May his most recent photo.

May's indignation cooled down somewhat as she appraised the contents of the photo. She stood slightly off-centre, a cool, confident expression on her face, with the gorgeous falls cascading behind her. A Remoraid splashed to the side, creating a perfect arc of shimmering water droplets. She suppressed a grin. _I don't look half bad!_

"Well," May said with an exaggerated sigh as she handed it back. "It's a decent photo, so I probably shouldn't stay mad at you."

To his credit, the photographer did look somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "The Remoraid schools come here only once a year, and I wanted to take a pic of one leaping out of the water. I'm Todd, by the way. A Pokémon photographer."

May shook his hand when he offered it. "I'm May!" she said with a disarming smile.

"Hmm, " said Todd, staring at her as though he was trying to remember something. "You look familiar."

"Oh." May laughed. "You might have seen me in some of the Hoenn and Kanto Contests last year."

Todd's eyes flashed with recognition. "May _Maple_, the Coordinator!" he said, astonished. "The Princess of Hoenn?"

May felt the colour rising to her cheeks and giggled nervously. "I never imagined I'd be so famous…Princess of Hoenn…" She glanced around. Thankfully, none of the other passengers were paying them any attention, focused as they were on the vista in front of them.

"You must be here for this year's Johto Contests, right?" Todd guessed.

May didn't answer immediately, smiling knowingly and taking in the scenery for a moment. They were steadily closing in on Coastline City, the town's colourful buildings appearing larger by the second. Anticipation welled up within her at knowing the start of her next adventure was staring her in the face.

"You know it!" she answered, meeting Todd's gaze. "A whole new country to explore and Contests to compete in…I can't wait!"

Todd laughed with her. "I thought so," he said. He stared out at the sea as May had just done, a wistful expression on his face. "You know, I didn't pay attention to Contests until about a year ago myself. One of my contacts in the business told me to watch a couple, maybe see how I'd feel about expanding into Contest photography."

"Really?" This piqued May's interest. "How'd you feel about that?"

"At first I was, like, no way! But when I actually watched my first Contest, that totally changed. Man, some of those entries! The art, the presentation…you'd know what I mean, of course!"

"Of course!" May echoed. _Finally! _she thought as she listened to Todd relate his newfound love for Contests. _Someone who appreciates the art of Contests! I had the guys' support back then, but they never really got into the feel of things even when they competed themselves._

"Since then, I've been photographing Contests all over the place," Todd continued. "That's why I was in Hoenn in the first place, actually. Some of the committee members in charge of the Grand Festival wanted me to be the official photographer, and I agreed."

"That must've been amazing to watch."

Todd nodded. "Still, my pride and joy will always be that picture of an Articuno I took a couple years back.

"You have a picture of Articuno?" May said, her eyes widening. "Seriously?"

"My best photo," Todd said proudly. A nostalgic look flashed through his eyes. "We found it in the mountains between Ecruteak and Olivine, in Johto's far north. What an adventure that was! We'd gotten into a few scrapes along the way. If Ash hadn't been there to help me out, I don't know what I would've done. I tell you, he and his Pikachu−"

"Ash _Ketchum?_" May interrupted.

"You know him, too?" Todd asked, slightly taken aback.

May made an affirmative noise. "We travelled through Hoenn and Kanto together. His friend Brock was with us, too."

Todd laughed airily. "Quite the coincidence, huh?" He put his camera into a gray foamy case, which then went into his sepia-coloured handbag.

"No kidding. So how'd you guys meet?"

"We met in Kanto when we were just ten, and Ash was just starting out on his trainer's journey. Then we bumped into each other again a couple years later, in Johto actually. That's when we found that Articuno. We spent a good couple weeks searching for it. Good thing Ash, Misty, and Brock were headed in the same direction I was."

"I can imagine. Legendary Pokémon aren't exactly easy to come across."

"Speaking of which, did Ash really battle one?" Todd asked, leaning on the rail to his side. "I heard something like that through the grapevine."

May nodded excitedly. "He did! It was his first challenge against a Kanto Frontier Brain. Noland…" –she remembered that epic battle quite well– "He was friends with an Articuno. Ash's Charizard was pushed to the brink that day, but he ended up winning."

It was Todd's turn to laugh. "So he managed to defeat a legendary Pokémon," he said thoughtfully. "He's sure come a long way. Though somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

The last twenty minutes of the ferry ride thus passed quickly, May and Todd immersed in their conversation. They were among the first passengers to get off, as they both had relatively little luggage to carry with them.

"Ah, smell that fresh Johto air!" May exclaimed as they walked along the stone pier and into town. Up close, Coastline City was even more charming than it had appeared from the ferry. The houses were all painted in soft pastel hues, most of them two stories high, with a business on the bottom floor and living quarters on the top. There were also a fair number of resort hotels in the neighbourhood, close as it was to the port and to wide expanses of sandy beach. It was a pretty town, bustling with activity but not overly crowded or cramped.

Todd sniffed. _May has a point about the air,_ he thought as the salty tang of the sea entered his nose. _Not too many cars around today, so it's fresh alright. Hmm, and someone's cooking linguini alla Violet._

"Smells good," he commented as they turned a corner and went onto a main street which hugged the shoreline. "Let's go grab some lunch."

"No!" May said, waving her arms anxiously. "Much as I love food, we're going to the Contest Hall first so I can register."

"Oh, right," said Todd nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Can't forget that."

May rummaged through her backpack, looking for a map. She zipped it back up with a sharp exhale of breath. "Looks like I forgot to get a map of Coastline City," she said, her shoulders drooping. "Great. Now how will we find the Contest Hall? There should be a kiosk or something around here that sells maps."

"No need," said Todd comfortingly, digging through his own backpack and taking out a PokéNav. May breathed a sigh of relief as he strapped it on his left wrist and pressed a large red button on the side to turn it on.

"Todd, you're awesome," she said, lips parting into a relieved smile.

He shrugged. "Just well-supplied," he answered with a grin.

* * *

A few minutes later, they were at the Coastline City Contest Hall, where May received her Johto Contest Pass without any complications.

"All set," said the receptionist as he handed her the pass. May eagerly reached across the wooden counter, her sapphire eyes lighting up with joy as she took the pass into her hands. "Good luck! The next Contest is in exactly one week from now."

"Thanks!" she said, slipping the pass into a slot in her wallet. She turned to Todd. "Lunch?"

"Good idea."

To May's pleasure, Todd was a food connoisseur as well. He kept a close watch on the best, trendiest, and most upscale places to dine, and he and May avidly compared notes as they walked along the sunny streets of Coastline City. They decided to have lunch at a quaint seaside café close to the Pokémon Centre, a short ways east of the port they had docked at.

"It's been a while since I was in Johto," said Todd, flipping through the glossy menu. "But I've never been to Coastline City. I felt like I missed out on a lot of good photo opportunities, so I want to make up for it this time."

May glanced up from her own menu, a thought suddenly forming in her head. Before she could second-guess herself, she took the shot. "Hey, how would you like to be my photographer for next week's Contest?" she asked.

Todd's grip loosened and he almost dropped his menu. "Are…are you sure?" he said, a note of apprehension to his voice. But May could tell that inside, the prospect thrilled him.

"Of course!" she said, smiling endearingly. For once, she was glad she'd acted on impulse.

"Well…" May could tell that Todd was thinking about it as he took a sip from his glass of water. "I _was _thinking about taking pics for Contests in general while I'm in Johto−"

"And you can start with my Contest debut here!" May declared.

Todd set his glass on a coaster. "Well, when you put it that way−"

"Are we ready to order?" said a sweet voice from behind them. May and Todd turned to see a waitress standing at their table, pen in one hand and paper pad in the other.

May and Todd ordered their dishes and returned to their previous conversation. _Please, Todd, _May willed, _say yes!_

"Okay, I'll do it!" said Todd with a grin as the waitress marched to a table on the other side of the restaurant.

"Great!" May chirped. "Make sure to get my good side, okay?" She gave him a friendly wink.

"Haha, I don't know which side is better," Todd teased.

May pretended to be offended. "You flirt, you!" she said in a mock chastising tone, and they shared a good laugh.

Shortly thereafter, their food arrived. They dug into their dishes with relish. May worked on a plate of ham and cheese crepes with béchamel sauce, while Todd twirled forkfuls of his favourite linguini alla Violet pasta, a Johto specialty made with a light spicy crème sauce, sausages, bell peppers, and chopped Razz and Tamato Berries.

"This was the best choice ever, Todd!" May said in between gulps. "These crepes are _awesome_. Almost as good as Brock's cooking."

"For sure," Todd said in the middle of gobbling down his linguini. "I've gotten into so many adventures with those guys. How're Ash and Brock doing, by the way?"

May felt a sudden pang in her stomach she couldn't explain. "Great!" she answered, forcing herself to look up with a smile on her face. Her cheeriness felt fake, and she was no longer hungry. Failing to put on a façade, she glowered down at her plate, picking at her food.

It was clear to Todd that something was up. "Uh…did I say anything weird?" he asked curiously, setting down a forkful of pasta on his plate.

"No! Not at all!" May said in that same painfully false chipper voice. "I'm fine! Just…fine…" Her voice trailed off and she felt tears forming at her eyes. She sniffed, trying hard not to break down. Todd gave her a quizzical look.

"To tell you the truth, I've never travelled alone before," she said softly. "In Hoenn and Kanto, I was always with Ash, Brock, and my little brother Max." She wiped a tear with her arm. "I…I miss them all so much! I didn't realize until now just how much I depended on them. Even Max, you know, he was kind of like my protector."

_Damn, _Todd thought. _How do I deal with this? I suck at this comforting stuff. I don't want her to take anything I say the wrong way._

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said hesitantly. "I've been travelling alone ever since I set out to become a pro photographer. So I've never really grown attached to anyone. But I can understand how you feel. Sorry for bringing it up."

May sniffed, wiping her eyes once more. But to Todd's relief, she was grinning when she looked back at him. "No, it's okay," she replied, her voice steadying. "I'm being a bit of a drama queen about it. I came here to make a fresh start, and that's what I'm gonna do!" Her grin broke into a confident smile.

"Glad to hear," Todd said kindly. "If you're worried about travelling alone, then you don't have to."

May stared at him pointedly. "What do you mean?"

Todd hesitated. He took a deep breath before replying: "What you mentioned earlier about me being your photographer…why don't I do it for all your Contests? We can travel around Johto together…if you don't mind."

"R-really!" she stuttered. "I mean, if that's okay with you! I don't know what your plans are, but sure! I could use the company!"

"Hehe, from now on I'll be the great May Maple's cameraman!" May could tell Todd was relishing the prospect. His gray eyes lit up again like they had before on the ferry.

"This is _perfect!" _she said, just as excited as Todd was. "Oh, I'm so nervous about being on camera. But I'm so happy, too!"

"I hope you pay more attention to the Contest than to the paparazzi," a caustic voice from the side said. Todd looked up from his meal. May whirled her head around and she massaged her neck from the whiplash.

"Drew!" the brunette exclaimed, her voice an unnaturally high pitch. "Y-you made it here!"

Todd regarded the newcomer. The boy to the side of their table had sea green hair and turquoise eyes. His dark blue vest was unzipped, and underneath it he wore a light purple T-shirt. The ensemble was completed by a pair of beige pants. A Roselia stood next to him, its eyes half shut and a cocky smile on its face.

"Friend of yours?" Todd asked slowly.

"Uh…kinda, sorta," May and the boy answered at the same time. They immediately caught themselves and looked at each other, the boy showing a hint of a smile. They looked away, then back, and Todd gave them both a curious glance.

May broke the increasingly awkward silence by introducing her acquaintance to Todd. "This is Drew," she said with a casual wave of her arm in the boy's direction.

"Your rival," said Todd, nodding in sudden understanding. "I remember him from some of the Contests on TV."

"Todd here is a Pokémon photographer," May explained to Drew.

Drew was the one who nodded this time, doing so with a hint of sarcasm. "And you're following May around because she'll be participating, right?" He put on a smirk similar to that of his Roselia.

Todd was nonplussed. Was Drew mocking him? Could be, he thought, but somehow the green-haired boy's tone didn't exactly come across that way. "Yeah, that's actually what I'm doing," he said, slightly nervously. "I just agreed to be her Contest photographer."

"Drew!" May hissed. She was getting annoyed now. _Who does he think he is, talking that way to Todd,_ she growled mentally.

But the green-haired boy just shrugged. "What?" he said calmly, that smirk still on his lips. "I was just saying, Todd has good taste."

May's jaw dropped slightly at the comment. Now she didn't know what to make of _that_. Compliments weren't Drew's specialty, especially directed at her. On the other hand, sarcasm was. Still, May couldn't help but feel an odd tingle. _Arceus, I hope the boys don't notice me blushing!_

"Uh…thanks, I guess," she muttered, her eyes on the table.

Drew wrinkled his nose. "Don't let it get to your head." He slung his backpack over his shoulders.

"Well, I've gotta get going. Need to prepare for next week's Contest, you know." –he placed an emphasis on the word _Contest_– "so take care, May. Nice meeting you, Todd."

The photographer waved weakly as Drew turned on his heel and exited the café, followed closely by his Roselia. Todd's gaze followed Drew as the Coordinator left, and he made a mental note to capture some shots of that Roselia at next week's Contest.

"That…that _guy!"_ May said the instant Drew was out of earshot. "Sometimes he can be so…so…_why are you doing that!"_ She redirected her indignation at Todd, who for some odd reason was chuckling.

_"What!" _she snapped shrilly when Todd continued to laugh without answering.

"Haha, I was thinking about how you just acted," he answered with a knowing smirk.

May felt her jaw drop again. "W-what do you mean by that!" she stammered, her face reddening perceptibly. "First of all, Drew and I aren't even _friends−"_

May stopped herself as she realized what she just said. _What am I trying to justify here?_ she thought furiously. _Wait, why am I even thinking about this? I should be getting excited about next week's Contest! I even have a photographer and travelling companion! But that Drew…ugh!_

To her relief, Todd didn't press the matter. "That's alright," he said, his face softening. "I shouldn't be prying."

"No, no!" May said light-heartedly, finishing up the last of her crepes. She gulped. "Trust me, there isn't much to pry into anyway."

_Something tells me that isn't the case, _Todd thought to himself._ May isn't being honest with herself about her feelings for Drew. It's none of my business, really, but I just hope it doesn't affect her too much when she's on stage. I wonder how it'll all play out…_

_

* * *

_

**As always, a huge thank-you to my beta, Wanderer Bard, who does everything in his power to make sure IAWNW is the best it can be. Shout-outs also go to those who have reviewed the last two chapters of IAWNW, particularly Rocky373, Geta-Boushi Dobby-San, and Megalink1126 for their advice.**

**Hope you enjoyed this week's installment of IAWNW, folks.  
**


	4. New Friends

**Chapter 4: New Friends**

Nurse Joy stared curiously at the young man who had just entered the Pokémon Centre and was now leaning on the white countertop in front of her. He was covered in dirt and sweat, as though he had been on several days' journey through hostile terrain. The back of his white, spiky tuque hung limply down to his neck. His black-and-orange T-shirt and black shorts were dirty and torn in places.

"Name's Brendan Birch," he said, cracking a smile and putting down three Pokéballs on the counter. "My Pokémon are in pretty bad shape."

"Of course, I'll get right to it," Nurse Joy said reassuringly, her eyes creasing with concern. "Do you have a place to stay tonight, dear?"

"Nah, I just got here from Hoenn," Brendan answered, wiping some of the dirt from the hem of his shirt.

The nurse's eyes widened, the curls in her reddish-pink hair bouncing as she recoiled slightly. "From _Hoenn?"_ she asked louder than Brendan would have liked. "Were you on the ship that exploded?" Several people sitting in the Centre's lounge turned their heads in Brendan's direction.

"Yeah, I was," Brendan mumbled, hoping his tone would indicate that this topic made him uncomfortable.

"Oh my Arceus, it's all over the news!" Nurse Joy exclaimed, oblivious, causing Brendan to wince with embarrassment. As if to emphasize her point, she motioned to the large plasma-screen TV, where news of the explosion was being broadcast. A panel of reporters was commenting excitedly on the event, gesturing wildly as they blabbed.

"So what _really_ happened?" the indiscreet nurse eagerly continued in a conspiratorial whisper, leaning in close.

That was it. "Everyone's alright," Brendan snapped, recoiling at Nurse Joy's tactless behaviour. "I'd just like my Pokémon healed and a room for the night, if that's okay!"

"O-of course," the nurse replied, flustered but getting the message all the same. "I-I'll get right on it." She took Brendan's Pokéballs, then swung around on her heel and marched to a pair of automatic doors, on top of which was a rectangular sign with a needle symbol that lit up as she walked in. She came back less than a minute later and looked through the computer at the side of her desk. Opening a drawer underneath, she took out a pair of keys joined together on a silver ring.

"Your room is number 252," said Nurse Joy, handing Brendan the keys. "And your Pokémon should be healed by tonight. Swampert in particular is exhausted, so make sure it gets plenty of rest. Take care, dear."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Brendan responded in a softer voice. "I really appreciate it." Walking around the side of the desk, he headed for the hallway in the back of the Centre which led to his room.

* * *

May glanced at Todd as he lay on his bed, leafing through a magazine nonchalantly. She twisted the plastic rod by the room's window to close the blinds, then turned on the lamp next to her own night table. It was already dark, she mused.

They had checked into the Pokémon Centre after coming back from the café and gotten a double room on the second floor. May had introduced Todd to her Pokémon, and they spent the afternoon practicing May's Contest moves. Todd seemed very impressed with May's skill as a Coordinator, eagerly offering his own input as her Pokémon performed for him. When the sun began to set, they had gone back to their room, making plans for the next week.

"A whole week!" May exclaimed, collapsing onto her own bed. "I can't wait that long to compete with _Drew."_ She muttered Drew's name as though it was a curse. Todd couldn't suppress a snort, and May rounded on him.

"Quit laughing!" she protested. She stood up from the bed with a start, anchoring her hands on her hips. "That's the second time now! What, you think Drew…_and I…_" Her voice trailed off.

"Come on, May, don't take it so personally," Todd said in between peals of laughter, dropping the magazine.

May gave him a cold stare, but fought to keep a straight face. "I mean, not that it'll ever happen!" she said mock-seriously.

Todd nodded. "Sure, sure," he replied sarcastically, then dodged as May pretended to punch him.

"You're so mean!" she said. She laughed, then cleared her throat, which suddenly felt dry. _I should get something to drink. _"Hey, Todd, I'm gonna grab a Nomelade from the vending machine downstairs. I'm thirsty."

"Sounds good," he said. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a two-Pokédollar coin. "Mind getting me some Oran Juice?"

"Sure!" May answered, pocketing the coin and opening the door to their room. "I'll be back in a few."

* * *

An hour after checking in, Brendan had showered and changed into a new set of clothes, consisting of a green T-shirt over a pair of dark blue shorts. He had gone back to the front desk to pick up his healed Pokémon, and was now returning to his room. _I'll start training first thing tomorrow morning, _he thought as the elevator came into view. _Maybe I'll go out into the mountains close to here and grab a couple Johto Pokémon. That'll be fun!_

Brendan stopped in front of the elevator and waited patiently. The panel of lights on top showed that someone was coming down. He backed up as the metal door began to open in order to let the other person come out−

Something shot at his face and the next thing he knew, his vision was completely blocked by a blue and tan blur. The thing, whatever it was, muffled his protestations as he stumbled about comically, arms flaying wildly as he attempted to grab onto something for support. As he walked, he tripped over something furry and fell to the ground with a loud thud. He swore loudly as his sore shoulder shot up in pain once more.

"Whafflfrrfrr…going on!" he shouted, the creature still attached to his face.

"Eevee, Squirtle, stop that right now!" a girl's voice commanded sharply. Brendan felt his tuque being pulled off, exposing a shock of tousled black hair. Still on the ground, he touched his head, then made a pawing motion, thinking that whatever had taken his tuque was behind him. Looking straight up, he saw a girl with blue eyes and shoulder-length brown hair standing behind him, reprimanding two small Pokémon. One was a light-blue-skinned turtle with a brown shell and tan underbelly. The other was a long-eared mammal with shiny black eyes. Its fur was brown, save for a tan-coloured tuft under its chin and on the end of its bushy tail. Brendan recognized that one as an Eevee. They were looking up at the girl innocently, the turtle holding Brendan's tuque in its hand. The whole scene would've been hilarious, he thought, if it weren't for the fact that the little monsters had assaulted him just as he was recovering from being roughed around on the ship.

May's jaw suddenly dropped as she pointed to Brendan's tuque, as though just noticing that her Pokémon was holding it. "Oh my Arceus!" she shrieked. "Squirtle, you just pulled some random guy's hair off! How did…oh no! Oh, I can't believe it! And on my first day in Johto, too! I just ruined this guy's life!"

"Uh…" Brendan tried to interject as he pulled himself off the floor and wiped his shorts with his hands.

"…it's over! It's not just over, it's _over_ over!" the girl continued, arms stretched out to her sides.

Brendan was about to say something in response, but stopped as he gave the girl a second glance.

She bowed dramatically, hands clasped together, and Brendan's eyes unconsciously drifted down to her chest. He wasn't paying attention to what she was saying, which was something along the lines of, "I'm so sorry. If there's anything I can do−"

May stopped abruptly, glancing at Brendan and Squirtle. "Wait a minute, you have hair," she said in a much calmer voice.

But Brendan wasn't listening. Time seemed to slow down as he took in every detail of the girl standing in front of him. She wore a green bandanna, an orange sleeveless top that extended to her thighs, and tight black shorts which gently hugged her legs. Brendan noted with pleasure that she was also wearing black fingerless gloves and white trainers, the entire ensemble straight out of _Trainer Fashion Monthly: Hoenn Edition._ It wasn't like she was saying anything important, he thought as his heart raced. On the other hand, those deep sapphire eyes, the gentle contours of her frame…not to mention the slight twang to her voice that betrayed her Hoenn origins, probably Petalburg or Rustboro.

"Uh, hello?" said May, a bit surprised at Brendan's lack of a response. She waved a hand in front of his face, on which a vacant stare plastered itself, his jaw slightly lowered.

"Wha…sorry," Brendan mumbled, shaking his head. "What was that about…uh, my love- uh, I mean my life and your life and, uh…" _Crap, how does Julian do this without getting all tongue-tied!_ He was so focused on making an impression that he failed to notice May gulping at the sound of his voice.

_Another Hoenner, _she thought, recognizing the accent and also noticing that it was quite a bit stronger than hers. He had a melodic voice, if she had to describe it. Not quite boyish, but not deep enough to be adult, she thought. Whatever it was, it gave her a slight tingle.

May found herself giggling nervously. "Ah, sorry, I thought that hood was your hair and then Squirtle went and pulled it off."

"Squirrrrrtle," the little turtle said apologetically.

Brendan laughed. "I see. So this little guy's a Squirtle," he said, walking up to Squirtle and petting it on the head. He fished out a Pokédex from a side pocket in his jeans, flipped open the cover, and pressed a large red button on the right side of the machine.

"No data," came the mechanical response, accompanied by a screen of black-and-white static. Brendan frowned, then slapped himself on the forehead.

"Of course, I haven't gotten my Pokédex updated yet," he noted. He stood up and faced May, giving her a disarming smile. "No worries about the tuque, a lot of people think it's my real hair." The ice broken, they shared a good laugh.

"I thought it'd be a good idea to let Squirtle and Eevee out for a bit," said May. "They're so excited to be in Johto that they decided to _run around like crazy!"_ Her eyes flared as she gritted her teeth into a false smile. Squirtle and Eevee trembled.

"Uh…" Brendan took a step back in fear of her sudden wrath.

May gasped and put a hand over her mouth, then smiled again. "Oops," she squeaked. "Didn't mean to freak out like that! Geez, I'm turning into Mom!" _Isn't that a scary thought!_

"That's alright," said Brendan. After a pause, he spoke again: "So, what part of Hoenn are you from?"

May was taken aback. "Do I really sound like I'm from Hoenn?" she said, surprised. "I am, but still…"

"I'd recognize a Hoenn accent anywhere," said Brendan proudly. "Being from Littleroot Town myself. I'm guessing you're from…Petalburg? Rustboro?"

"Yeah, I'm from Petalburg City," May answered, recalling Squirtle and Eevee to their Pokéballs. "My name's May!"

At the mention of 'May' and 'Petalburg City', Brendan gave her another cursory glance. _No wonder she looked familiar, _he thought. _Could it be… _"May…Maple?" he said cautiously. "The Coordinator? Norman's daughter?"

Embarrassment crept back into May's face and she blushed again. "Yeah, that's me," she said timidly. "That's the second time today somebody recognized me."

"I've seen you on TV a couple times," said Brendan, leaning to the side on a nearby vending machine. "Ow…" He winced, gritting his teeth and recoiling as the pain made him realize it was his injured arm he had leaned on.

"Are you alright?" May asked. "Oh, that reminds me…" Remembering the drinks she was going to get for Todd and herself, she took out a wallet and inserted a two-Pokédollar coin into the slot.

"It's nothing," said Brendan. "Just a little scrape on my arm is all. But man, your dad is _tough! _I only beat him on the third try and even then, it was close. You're probably a great Trainer too, aren't you?"

"Who, me?" May gave Brendan a shocked look as she put her bottle of Nomelade on the ground and put another coin into the slot. "No, no, I'm just a Coordinator. I pretty much gave up on battling before I even started. I saw a contest in Rustboro and I've been in love with them ever since." She pressed a button and, with a clang, a bottle of Oran Juice fell out. "Heck, I didn't even want to _train_ Pokémon at first; I just wanted to travel. But then I met these guys, Ash and Brock, from Kanto, and that totally changed. It was great travelling around Hoenn and Kanto with them."

"Meh." Brendan shrugged and made a non-committal sound. "I'm not one for Contests. More of a rough-riding battler myself. The name's Brendan Birch."

May's eyes widened. "Birch…from Littleroot Town? You aren't related to Professor Birch by any chance, are you?"

"He's my dad."

They walked over to the elevator and went inside. Brendan pressed the button for the second floor, and May and he continued their conversation. It turned out that May had gotten her Trainer's licence two years ago, receiving her Torchic at around the same time that he'd gotten Lear. They got around to talking about their travelling experiences; May, it turned out, had journeyed throughout Hoenn and Kanto with her little brother, as well as two older boys from Kanto called Ash and Brock. She appeared to hold Ash in particular in high regard, and Brendan would feel a lump forming in his throat every time she mentioned him.

Soon, they arrived at Brendan's room. "Come in, May!" he offered eagerly as they stopped in front of the door. "We can talk some more."

"Sorry," she apologized. "I told Todd I'd be back soon." Brendan's sudden crestfallen expression didn't escape her. She hastily added, "He's my photographer. I was just getting us some drinks."

"That's okay," Brendan said neutrally. May could tell he was disappointed, though, feeling a twinge of guilt. _He's been so friendly with me, even after Squirtle and Eevee knocked him over, and I'm just brushing him off._

"Why don't you come by our room tomorrow morning?" she said with as friendly a smile as she could. The way his eyes lit up as she mentioned that made her heart flutter, and she felt her breathing become heavier as his smile widened into a toothy grin.

"Eleven sound good?" he asked, still eyeing her as he unlocked his door and pushed it open.

"Sure!" May answered affirmatively.

"Great! See you then!" They waved to each other as May continued on to her and Todd's room.

Brendan leaned with his back on the door, pumping both his fists. _Yes! A date! Well, we didn't really _say _it was a date. But hey, I'm a guy, I'm meeting a girl at a given time. That's the first step! Man, is Julian gonna be jealous when I tell him..._

_

* * *

_

Brendan was up early the following morning. Organization or no Organization, nothing was going to stop him from the daily workout routine Julian and he had taken on midway through their Battle Frontier challenge. Before starting his workout, he went to the front desk and had an obnoxiously cheerful Nurse Joy update his Pokédex to include the Johto Pokémon. In addition, she registered him for the Johto League, which would culminate in the Silver Conference to be held next June in Silver Town. Expectedly, she did not neglect to mention how much better he looked that morning. He forced down the flush of annoyance at her remarks, knowing that she meant well. The most pressing matter behind him, he made a beeline for the gym. He knew that each Pokémon Centre had a workout area, and the one in Coastline City was no exception. Equipped with the latest machinery, it offered a lovely panoramic view of the ocean. Following a plan Julian had drafted for him, Brendan focused on cardio and took it easy with the weights this morning. He finished at nine thirty, an hour after he had started, drenched in sweat and feeling great. _Great, _he thought, _I can get in some Pokémon training before I see May at eleven._ He tried not to get too giddy at that last thought.

Making his way through the Pokémon Centre, he came to a pair of glass doors, beyond which was a grass field bordered by tall wire fencing. The field was deserted. Brendan glanced at the sign-up sheet to the side of the doors. _No one's using this 'til noon, _he noticed_. Nice. _He wrote down his name and Trainer ID in the respective boxes using the pen hanging to the side, then pushed open the doors. Excitement mounted in him as he made his way onto the field, the grass crunching underneath his sneakers as he walked.

Brendan unclipped a Pokéball from his belt. "Let's go, Nathair- huh?" As he was about to release the Fang Snake Pokémon, a small insect-like Pokémon flew onto the grass a few metres ahead of him. It was round in shape, with a tan underbelly. Its back was a deep red, interspersed with large black spots; Brendan saw that the back was bisected, being as it was a protective covering for two clear wings underneath. Two large round eyes stared out from its head, at the top of which a pair of black antennae was perched. Three pairs of short black legs protruded from each side of its body, ending in round white feet with no fingers.

"Who's _that_ Pokémon?" he muttered to himself, automatically taking his Pokédex out of his shorts pocket and turning it on.

"Ledyba, the Five Star Pokémon," the Pokédex said in its metallic, artificially tonal voice. "It gathers pollen in the morning and spends the rest of its day in its nest. Ledyba often work in groups and they have a strong sense of smell."

Brendan glanced at a little gold light near the top right of the screen and smiled. That was what interested him the most. "According to Dexter, this is a wild Pokémon," he murmured, unclipping two Pokéballs from his belt: an empty one with which to catch Ledyba, and another one which held his Pokémon of choice for the upcoming battle. He tossed the second Pokéball out in front of him.

"Let's do this, Nathair!"

With a flash, the proud Seviper emerged from his Pokéball. Brendan quickly ordered, "Wrap it now so it can't get away!" Nathair slithered toward Ledyba with astonishing speed. Ledyba reacted by raising the protective shell covering its wings and attempting to fly away. But Nathair was too fast, and soon had the small bug wrapped around his scaly body.

"Good job, buddy!" said Brendan. _That Pokémon looks pretty weak, but I don't know what attacks it can use._ "Use Glare to paralyze it!" He knew Glare wasn't successful some of the time, but right now it seemed like his best option in keeping the opponent down. Nathair's eyes glowed a fierce red, the scales on his face contorting in an attempt to frighten Ledyba to the point that it would be afraid to move. But the Five Star Pokémon paid no attention, instead using its rounded feet to punch its captor in rapid succession. Nathair's body wriggled as he steadily released his hold on Ledyba, uncoiling from the impact of the other's blows. Each punch wasn't very strong by itself, but the Pokémon was fast, its attack repetitive and prolonged.

"That looks like Comet Punch," Brendan mused. "Guess it's not as harmless as I thought. Let go, Nathair, and attack with Poison Fang!"

The Fang Snake finished uncoiling, slithering away and then circling back. He opened his elastic mouth, his normally red fangs glowing a sinister purple and dripping with venom. As he struck, the other Pokémon dodged, angling its round body and then tackling Nathair hard with a high-pitched _"Bibiiii!"_. _"Sssssseviper!"_ the Fang Snake hissed in protest as Ledyba slammed into his back. He slithered in a figure eight, moving to face his opponent.

"Tough little guy," Brendan muttered. "Nathair, switch to Poison Tail!" he ordered. Seviper swung around, the tip of his tail forming an arc of purple light as it zeroed in on its opponent. Ledyba was quicker, though, and dodged.

Brendan snickered. _Just what I expected. _"Poison Fang!"

Ledyba had moved out of Poison Tail's way, but Nathair had already swung around to face it again. Jaws wide, Nathair landed a bite on the bug's left flank, piercing the other's tough exoskeleton with his fangs. He immediately withdrew his fangs so as not to release more poison than necessary, leaving two tiny holes in the Five Star Pokémon's outer shell. It fell down, hitting the grassy field with a rustle.

"Capture time," said Brendan confidently, grabbing an empty Pokéball from his belt and tossing it at Ledyba. Both Nathair and he watched closely as the ball hit the other Pokémon with a clunk, then rebounded and absorbed it with a beam of red light. Brendan ran up to the Pokéball, which had landed on the ground and was wiggling furiously, the button in the centre flashing red. _Come on, come on, come on._ The wiggling slowed down and then stopped. The button flashed once. Twice. A third time.

PING! With that, the ball stopped moving.

Brendan's eyes gleamed as he picked up the Pokéball containing his new Ledyba. "Look, Nathair!" he said excitedly, holding the sphere to the snake's face. "We caught ourselves a new friend! Our first Johto Pokémon. Good job, buddy." He petted Nathair affectionately on the ridge in the middle of his head.

_"Ssseviper…"_ the Fang Snake hissed contentedly.

Brendan glanced at the glass doors behind him. "We should probably heal this little guy before we start training. Then we'll do some drills with Lear and Chimecho, okay?" And both Trainer and Pokémon went back inside.

* * *

After training his Pokémon for the next hour and then returning to his room to shower, Brendan returned to the front desk and picked up his Ledyba, whom he had left to Nurse Joy earlier to heal. His Pokétch showed that it was only a couple minutes to eleven. With a twinge of embarrassment, he felt his ears burning and knew he was blushing furiously. _How does Julian do it?_ he wondered to himself as his heart pounded. _He's so much calmer when it comes to girls! Guess it's just his style. He doesn't take anything too seriously. 'Course, he hasn't met May._

He took a deep breath, then walked down the hall to the elevator he'd met May at last night. _Relax, Birch. It's just like a Pokémon battle. _With a sharp _ping,_ the doors opened and he walked inside the elevator, pressing the button for the second floor. Arriving a few seconds later, he got off. _What am I saying, this is nothing like a Pokémon battle, _he thought with a shake of his head. Reaching May's room in the middle of the hallway, he took another deep breath and knocked on the door.

There was no answer. Brendan frowned, waiting another minute before deciding to knock again. His knuckles were barely a centimetre away from the door when a boy's voice said, "Excuse me, that's my room."

Brendan whirled to the left. Standing in the hall and staring at him curiously was a lanky, brown-haired boy a little taller than him.

"Um…uh…" Brendan silently cursed himself for being tongue-tied. "Uh, M-May told me to come by. I'm Brendan."

The other boy's face relaxed. "Oh yeah, she mentioned you'd come at eleven-ish. I'm Todd."

They shook hands. "Her…photographer?" Brendan asked hesitantly, hoping he had remembered correctly.

"That's me," said Todd with a chuckle. "Although I just met May yesterday."

"Is she here now?" he asked politely.

"Haha, she's still sleeping." Todd shuffled his feet.

"What!" Brendan's jaw dropped and he pointed at his Pokétch. "At _eleven?"_

Todd chuckled again. "Hang on." He rapped hard on the door three times. Brendan winced.

A moment later, the door opened slowly and May came out, lazily tying on her bandanna. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed: her hair was messy, her sneakers were untied, and her hastily buckled pouch slowly slipped off her waist.

"Hey, Todd," she said weakly. She hadn't seen Brendan yet, standing as he was at an angle which hid him from view. "My bad. Looks like I slept in a bit."

"A bit?" Brendan laughed. "Half the day's gone, May!" He pretended to be angry but was really just making light of the situation.

May jumped at the sound of his voice, giving a slight shriek. "B-B-Brendan!" she stammered as he slid into view, hurriedly running her hands through her hair to straighten it.

The corners of Brendan's mouth creased into a grin. "Did you forget about our-" He stopped himself, changing his choice of words. "Uh, that I was going to stop by?"

Thankfully, neither Todd nor May appeared to have noticed what he was about to say. "Don't tell me you're one of those…_morning_ people," May groaned.

"I'm up at seven at the latest," said Brendan, still grinning. "Best time for training!"

"You boy Trainers are all alike. Ash is the exact same way: he gets up early, divides the day between eating and training, and goes to bed."

Brendan felt the odd lump in his throat returning, but ignored it. "Looks like Ash and I would get along pretty well!" he said, forcing himself to sound cheerful. "The best Trainers are the most intense!" He paused for a moment. "Oh yeah, and I caught a Ledyba just this morning!" he stated, drawing incredulous looks from May and Todd.

"Already?" the photographer gasped. "That was quick. You just got here yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Brendan answered, stretching his shoulders. "I'm surprised I even made it here in one piece, considering everything that happened."

May and Todd stared at him again, this time with curiosity. "What do you mean?" asked May.

Brendan chuckled, leaning against the threshold of the door. "It's kind of a long story."

"Well, come in!" Todd offered. "And you can tell us all about it."

"Sure," Brendan agreed. Todd and he entered the room, sitting on a couple chairs while May sat cross-legged on her bed.

"It all started yesterday, a few hours before the ship was gonna dock…"

* * *

If there was one thing Rachel utterly despised, she thought with a sneer as she walked down the cold metal corridor, it was being assigned to work with the Organization's Liaisons Office. Not that she had anything against the institution itself, being as it was one of the Organization's most vital components. In fact, she had initially aimed to work in Liaisons herself, had her superiors not deemed her abilities more suited to the Armed Forces.

Reaching a door marked 'Chief of Liaisons,' she knocked on it twice, hard. This was how one dealt with Liaisons, she'd found out long ago. Firmly. No, it wasn't the Office itself she took issue with, but rather, the people who worked there.

The door opened excruciatingly slowly, to Rachel's mind, at least, and a man about 1.85 metres tall appeared behind it. The corners of his mouth crinkled into a smarmy smile upon seeing it was she who'd come by.

"Good to see you, Rachel," he greeted her.

Above all, she despised having to work with _him._

Without a word, she marched past him and into his office. His eyes following her, he remarked, "Straight to the point." He chuckled mischievously. "That's what I love about you, Rachel."

Pretending not to hear anything, Rachel tossed a manila folder onto an ebony desk which faced the door. "These are the initial lab results from yesterday's operation," she said briskly, avoiding the man's gaze.

"And Dr. Chen couldn't just fax me a copy?" he asked, his smile growing wider.

Rachel knew he was goading her, and she forced herself to stay on task. "It's a Rank One classified report," she answered, maintaining a businesslike composure. "As you're well aware, Andronicus, those are delivered in person only." She enunciated the last three words.

The man called Andronicus gave an exaggerated sigh. "And here I thought this was a social visit," he said, leaning against the wall.

She could take it no more. Meeting his gaze with a caustic glare, she spoke softly but dangerously: "We have work to do."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "If you insist," he said, lowering his own voice to a conspiratorial whisper. Closing the door with a soft _click,_ he made his way over to the desk, sitting down in his chair. Rachel took a seat as well in one of the chairs facing the desk.

Few people irritated her like Andronicus did. She could tolerate his flirtations – barely – but there was just something about him in general. Something that drove her insane. It certainly didn't help that deep down, she found the man incredibly attractive. Could that be it, she wondered fleetingly. A little under a head taller than her, he had dark brown wavy hair, carefully combed back and reaching the middle of his neck. His hair matched the colour of his eyes, which always seemed to twinkle with boyish amusement. And then there was his voice, crystal clear and masculine, but not too deep or too loud. It was a voice perfectly suited for a radio personality, which wasn't surprising, as he'd been one at the start of his career, during his teen and early adult years.

He hadn't been known as Andronicus back then, of course. Just as she hadn't been known as Rachel: they'd all taken on pseudonyms upon joining the Organization. Along with their pseudonyms, Organization members often created new identities for themselves as well. Not Andronicus. Over the years, he'd tempered his youthful enthusiasm into a more suave, refined demeanour. But the boy in him was still very much alive, as Rachel knew from annoying experience.

She could, though, grudgingly admit one thing.

No one was better than Andronicus at what he did.

"As I'm sure you've been informed," Rachel started while Andronicus poured water from a decanter into a crystal glass, "Yesterday's operation proved to be a little heavy-handed."

"A little?" Andronicus laughed. "You guys blew up a ship, for crying out loud!"

"We neutralized its control centre, thereby negating its ability to move," she answered through gritted teeth.

"Getting all technical on me again-" A flash of Rachel's eyes wiped the smirk off Andronicus' face, and he let her continue.

"We encountered unexpected resistance," Rachel carried on. "First, there were the G-Men" –she didn't fail to notice Andronicus' surprised expression when she said 'first'– "From the looks of it, I'm certain they planned their operation in advance. They sent all of three people to stop us – one of whom was an Officer Jenny – expecting us to operate in smaller units like we've done in the past. What we didn't anticipate was that we'd be facing Lance and Clair, two of the G-Men's strongest."

She paused, taking a deep breath. "And we certainly didn't expect such fierce resistance from the target."

"Brendan put up quite the struggle, didn't he?" Andronicus offered a glass of water to Rachel, who accepted it hesitantly.

"What, you think it's poisoned?" he teased. Rachel rolled her eyes and took a gulp from the glass, trying not to betray her gratitude. She'd been feeling quite thirsty, truth be told.

"He's trained his Pokémon exceptionally well," she admitted. "His Swampert was an equal match for Feraligatr. If not in strength, then certainly in strategy. Mind you, he's incredibly foolhardy. He actually tried to hold back the entire squad with a Seviper and Chimecho."

"Ballsy move," Andronicus commented with a chuckle.

Rachel made a derisive noise. "And he succeeded, too. He delayed us long enough for the G-Men to come in and corner me."

Andronicus shook his head. "I can only imagine how that went."

Rachel returned his grin. "Not very refined, those G-Men, charging in like a herd of Tauros." She waved a hand dismissively. "But back to the point. I…need your help, Andronicus." It was with great difficulty that she breathed out the last phrase.

He remained silent, the smile still on his face, and she went on:

"Yesterday's approach – and thankfully, Michael agreed with me on this – wasn't the right way to go about things. Brendan's important to us. Very important. If we're going to make use of his talents, we can't risk another fiasco. We need to go about it subtly. Bring him to us slowly, but surely."

Andronicus raised an eyebrow. "Bring Brendan to us, eh?" he murmured, putting a hand to his chin. "I wonder what Michael would think."

Rachel leaned in, despite her alleged revulsion of this man, and hissed softly, "To Darkrai with Michael! We're on to something here, Andronicus. We were this close" –she held the tips of her thumb and index finger close– "_this_ close to proving the Residual Attraction Hypothesis. I mean, we've practically proven it already."

Andronicus responded with a half-whisper of his own: "_Just_ the RAH?"

Rachel blinked at him confusedly for a moment before her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "You…you don't mean…"

His expression changed instantly again, becoming almost sinister. "As you said," he murmured slowly. "We need Brendan."

Rachel herself chuckled this time, clasping her hands and putting her elbows on Andronicus' desk. In that moment, she knew, it had all changed. That expression of his, their body language, and the unspoken communication between them said volumes.

He knew it, too.

"So," Andronicus continued in a regular tone of voice. "With everything you've told me, combined with everything we know about Brendan, I'm seeing the beginning of a plan. I'll need your input, of course, Rachel, but I think you'll find it meets our objectives perfectly."

She didn't miss the distinct emphasis he put on 'our.' "Go on," she said.

In the next ten minutes, Andronicus outlined his scheme while Rachel listened carefully. As he went on, she became ever more enraptured, hanging on to his every word. The plan was simple, so simple. So logical. So similar to what Rachel herself would have come up with. When he was done, they spent the next half hour going over the details. Rachel herself provided most of them, and Andronicus mostly agreed with any slight modifications she suggested.

"This is _perfect,"_ she gushed when they had agreed on the final structure of the plan.

"There's only one more thing." The way Andronicus said that, Rachel was sure what was coming next.

"And what would that be?" she asked almost playfully, pretending she didn't know.

"What will Michael think?" he mused in the same tone of voice.

"What _will_ he think?" Rachel said with a shrug. "We're doing exactly what he ordered, aren't we?" Her lips parted into a toothy smile, and she whispered, "It's for the Organization."

Andronicus took a slow, deliberate gulp of water from his glass. "Indeed," he whispered in return.

Now, more than ever, Rachel was convinced.

This was a man who shared her vision.

* * *

**So, Chapter 4 is finally out! If everything goes well, I can keep up a respectable release schedule, even as my classes become more demanding. Once again, a shout-out goes to my beta, Wanderer Bard, for his invaluable help in improving my writing and his unshakable dedication to this project. Also, thanks to those who have reviewed in the past and are planning on reviewing in the future. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	5. Mankeying Around

**Chapter 5: Mankeying Around**

Brendan had done some research the evening after he'd arrived in Coastline City, discovering that there was a Gym right here. Though it had operated unofficially for some years, it had recently been inaugurated as an official Johto League Gym, its Tide Badge carrying equal weight with the other eight Badges. As the Gym Leader specialized in Water-types, Brendan reasoned that he needed to spend some time training Ledyba and Chimecho before making his challenge. Certain that he'd be battling on a water field, their flying and levitating abilities respectively would be crucial. Lear would be his Pokémon of choice, of course, but he didn't want to rely on his starter alone.

Brendan had therefore decided to take the next few days off to train, planning to challenge the Coastline Gym right after May's Contest. That would give Lear enough time to fully heal from his battle against Rachel's Feraligatr. In the meanwhile, Ledyba and Chimecho would train with Nathair or May's Pokémon. Fortunately, his two smaller Pokémon were fast, eager learners, and Brendan was certain they'd put up a good fight at the Gym. He hung out with May and Todd every day, exploring Coastline City with them while they took breaks from practicing.

The day before May's Contest, Brendan offered to battle her, a challenge she accepted. A little after noon, he signed them up on a battlefield for the next fifteen minutes, Todd having offered to buy them lunch. The three of them agreed to meet at the veranda behind the centre in half an hour.

"How's one-on-one sound?" asked Brendan as they stood on opposite sides of the simple grass field.

"Fine with me!" May answered.

"Alright! Let's do this, Chimecho!" Brendan took Chimecho's Pokéball in his hand and threw it in front of him, releasing the Wind Chime Pokémon.

"I choose Eevee!" May threw her Pokéball, releasing Eevee.

Brendan gave her a grin. "Don't think I'll go easy on you, May! Chimecho, start off with Psywave!"

With a gentle but determined _"Chiiiiime"_, Chimecho's tail fluttered and she generated a rainbow-coloured wave of energy which headed straight for Eevee.

"Dodge and use Quick Attack!" May ordered. Eevee rolled out of the way, but Psywave managed to singe some of the fur on her long, rabbit-like ear. Wincing for a moment, Eevee went from a roll into a run, barrelling toward the Wind Chime at top speed.

Brendan stood there patiently, Chimecho doing the same. _What's he up to? _May wondered. _Why isn't he ordering Chimecho to do something?_

Eevee was two metres away from Chimecho and pounced when Brendan ordered, "Take Down, to the side!" Chimecho swerved to Brendan's left with her bell leaning forward, coming around in a slight curve to slam into Eevee's side. The bell made a dull _thunk_ as it impacted with the Evolution Pokémon's fur. The two Pokémon fell to the ground in a tangled heap and rolled to a stop. Chimecho struggled to untangle her red-and-blue streamer from Eevee, while the other squirmed.

"Chimecho, untangle yourself with Confusion!" said Brendan, not concerned in the least.

May wasn't as pleased, though. _That Take Down was nothing to laugh at, _she thought. _We'll have to be careful. Unless… _"Eevee!" she ordered, having come up with an idea. "Lower her attack with Growl!" Eevee withdrew, pawing the ground softly as she stared at Chimecho with wet, black eyes. She let out a soft purr, the Wind Chime sinking a few centimetres.

_"Chime…"_ Brendan's Pokémon murmured apprehensively.

"Like we'll let _that_ get to us," Brendan snickered. "Chimecho, get in close again!"

May narrowed her eyes. _What's he up to? Is he really planning on another physical attack?_ "Eevee, use Quick Attack again!" _If that's how he wants to play it…_

Chimecho hesitated for a fraction for a second, then shot forward. Eevee started running again in preparation for a Quick Attack; this time, she darted left and right in a zigzag pattern, brown-and-white fur rippling as she moved.

"Now!" yelled May as Chimecho approached. Eevee darted to Chimecho's left and pounced.

"Psywave!" Brendan suddenly ordered. At close range, Chimecho shot another beam of energy at Eevee. There was no way Eevee would possibly be able to avoid it.

As it turned out, avoiding it was not May's strategy. "Eevee, use Shadow Ball!" she said with a smile. "And then Bite Chimecho!" She felt a ripple of satisfaction at seeing Brendan's shocked face as Eevee emitted an orb of pulsating purplish-black energy from her mouth. The Psywave momentarily halted the Shadow Ball's path, but Eevee's attack finally broke through, cancelling out the rainbow stream of energy. Eevee then clamped her jaws down on Chimecho's streamer, dragging the helpless Psychic type to the ground. Chimecho thrashed about, protesting in her melodic voice.

_She's a Coordinator, _Brendan reminded himself. _So she's used to combos like these. _"I wasn't expecting Eevee to know Shadow Ball," he admitted, most of the shock gone. "You used a Ghost-type attack to cancel out a Psychic one. But" –he gave another grin– "that doesn't mean it's over." He stood up with his back straight and pointed at Eevee. "Chimecho, shake her off with Uproar!"

A sudden transformation came over the little Pokémon. The innocent look in her yellow eyes and narrow mouth vanished. With a mighty swish of her streamer, she released Eevee's Bite on her, violently throwing back the Evolution Pokémon. _"Chiiiime!"_ Chimecho growled in a deeper, more gravelly voice. Her body trembled with something in between anger and extreme irritation.

May felt her confidence vanish. "Careful, Eevee," she warned. Eevee squealed, nodding her understanding before facing her opponent again. Uproar was unpredictable, but she knew from experience how devastating an attack it could be.

If Brendan was concerned about his choice of moves, he didn't show it. "Attack!" he ordered. Chimecho needed no further encouragement. Hovering close to the ground, she swung her streamer left and right, pawing at the ground and raising clouds of grass and dust. In a flash, she sped toward Eevee in a frenzy.

"Bite her again, Eevee!" May ordered. As Chimecho brought down her streamer to hit Eevee, the other Pokémon tensed her hind legs and leaped up in an attempt to Bite Chimecho again. But Chimecho flicked her appendage out of harm's reach with a speed that surprised even Brendan, and began whacking Eevee repeatedly. She gave Eevee no quarter, striking with a speed that May's Pokémon could barely react to, much less defend against. She growled fiercely every time the streamer hit, the sound mixing with Eevee's squeals in a cacophony.

"This is bad!" May cried as Chimecho pursued her relentless attack. "Eevee's taking a serious beating!" _Think, May, think! There has to be something we can do!_

Brendan watched on silently, his fists clenched in anticipation. _Eevee's looking pretty beat up. I hope I'm not going too hard on May. _"Just a little more, Chimecho!" he shouted encouragingly, trying not to betray his concern for Eevee.

An idea formed in May's mind. _I know!_ "Eevee, distract it with Sand Attack!" she ordered. Eevee sprung into action, turning 180 degrees and fiercely kicking the ground with her hind paws, raising a cloud of debris similar to the way Chimecho had just done.

But neither Brendan nor Chimecho were fazed. In fact, Chimecho seemed even more antsy than before, twitching as she tried to blow away the debris. "Keep at it!" Brendan ordered.

_"Chime!"_ the Wind Chime Pokémon growled. She somersaulted midair and darted forward headfirst, heedless of the dust around it.

"Another Quick Attack!" said May, breathing deeply. Eevee made to sidestep when Chimecho came shooting out of the cloud of debris and slammed into her headfirst. May watched with disappointment as Eevee hurtled back and fell onto the grass to her right. She struggled to get up, one eye shut from the pain, her legs barely able to support it. Finally, her legs gave way and she collapsed, eyes closed.

May sighed. "Good job," she said with a wan smile as she recalled Eevee. _He sure knows what he's doing, _she thought, glancing over at Brendan and his victorious Pokémon. _From what he told me, Brendan hadn't started training Chimecho until a month ago. Look at him, he's so friendly with his Pokémon. _Chimecho, meanwhile, had calmed down in the wake of her victory, making cheerful sounds as Brendan gave her a hug.

"You did great, girl!" he congratulated her, his ruby eyes filled with pride. Recalling the Wind Chime Pokémon, he then turned to May. "You and Eevee really kept us on our toes there," he said with a hint of admiration. "And you said you weren't much of a battler." He chuckled softly.

"You may have won this time," she said teasingly. "But we're going to keep practicing, and next time, we'll wipe the floor with you!"

Brendan's eyes twinkled as he grinned roguishly. "Challenge accepted," he answered with mock smugness. May couldn't think of a suitable comeback, and so they stared at each other for a moment without saying anything. From this close, May noticed Brendan was a little under a head taller than she was. She barely had to lift her eyes to meet his, she mused, that familiar tingle from the other day returning. _He really does have strange eyes. They almost remind me of the Red Orb. Strange, but-_

"Let's go back to the veranda," Brendan said, his soft voice piercing the silence between them and derailing May's train of thought. "Todd's probably waiting for us with lunch there, and I'm hungry." His stomach growled and they looked at each other again before bursting out laughing. Brendan patted his stomach apologetically.

"I think your stomach agrees," May said in between peals of laughter. "Come on, I can't wait to try those burgers Todd's going to bring."

* * *

Todd had a wide grin on his face as he left the restaurant. This wasn't some dime-a-dozen fast food burger joint; no, these burgers were the real deal, with only the freshest bread, meat, and vegetables used in their cooking. His mouth watered at the smell of the food. _Man, I can't wait to get back to the Centre and eat,_ he thought. He hummed to himself as he carried the bulging bag, containing three double burgers and a large order of fries.

The little diner was situated on the ocean, flanked by the magnificent Coastline port on its right. Todd stared as he walked past. Ships of all sizes berthed in the harbour, from tiny fishing boats to the gigantic trans-ocean ferries that sailed off to faraway destinations like Hoenn and Sinnoh. Sailors and passengers scurried back and forth, often carrying large boxes or suitcases. Teams of Machoke and Machamp were loading and unloading goods from the ferries, some of them working cheerily as they sang. The salty tang of the ocean hung on the air, mixed with the smells and sounds of the port. Loud bass notes would occasionally sound, signifying that a ship was leaving or entering.

_This is where Brendan's ship docked last week, _Todd thought to himself. _I remember the port was shut down while the authorities searched the ship. You'd think the whole thing never happened._

He had just turned the corner onto the street where the Pokémon Centre was when something flew out from the direction of the port. He was stopped in his tracks as the thing landed in front of him, hopping wildly and making high-pitched chattering noises. It was about half a metre tall and had a round body covered in crème-white fur, save for its brown hands and feet. It had three fingers on each hand and foot, with two of the fingers on its feet pointing forward and the other pointing back. On top of its head were two small pointy ears, while a round pink snout in the centre with two slits for nostrils made up its nose. It had large eyes with oval-shaped dark red pupils. A long brown tail protruded from its back.

"How'd a Mankey get here?" Todd exclaimed as he caught his breath. He recognized the Pokémon, having seen many of them throughout Johto and Kanto. From the looks of it, this was a male member of its species. He also knew that Mankey were temperamental: they were very easy to anger and violent when provoked.

"G-g-good Pokémon…" he stammered, clutching his plastic bag tightly and taking a hesitant step forward. Mankey continued to hop and chatter, approaching Todd and pointing at the bag.

"You're hungry," he said with realization. He put on his angriest face, hoping in vain that it would intimidate the Pokémon. "Well, it's not for you!" he shouted, causing Mankey to jump back in surprise and emit a high-pitched squeal. He took the opportunity to walk past the Pig Monkey and hurry toward the Pokémon Centre.

Looking back, he saw to his horror that Mankey was chasing him. "Damn it!" he cried as he broke into a run, causing passersby to give him curious looks. _Why'd I have to yell at it like that?_ Another glance back showed him that Mankey was closing in. With a burst of speed, he sprinted across a street, the pedestrian light mercifully having just changed to a silver figure in mid-walk. A few more steps, and the Pokémon Centre finally came into view. _Just two more blocks. Two more blocks and hopefully he won't chase me into the Centre…_

Something slammed into Todd from behind and he was pushed down to the ground. He felt small but powerful furry hands grab hold of the plastic bag and try to burrow inside. More out of panic than anything, he yanked the bag away. But Mankey, persistent as he was, grabbed onto his arm instead. He gave a small cry of pain as his paws pulled on his skin.

"Get…off!" he groaned, standing up and walking toward the Centre again. He tried to pry Mankey's fingers off, but failed. Meanwhile, the Pokémon appeared to be having the time of his life, chattering and sniffing excitedly.

"You're enjoying this, are you?" Todd growled, running once more. To his embarrassment, people continued to stare at him, some even laughing at his predicament. _Isn't this just great!_

After crossing one more street, Todd and Mankey finally reached the Centre. With supreme effort, Todd managed to pull Mankey off his arm, setting him down on the ground.

"Leave me alone!" he demanded, entering the Centre through a set of automatic glass doors. "This is for Brendan and May!" Mankey's only response was to bounce about even more vigorously. Todd gave an exasperated sigh. _Maybe Brendan and May can help me, _he thought. _They actually have experience training Pokémon._

"Fine," he said, heading for the veranda with Mankey continuing to follow him. "Persistent little guy, aren't you?"

They went through another pair of automatic doors to the veranda, and Todd was relieved to find Brendan and May sitting at a table close to the door. _Looks like they finished their battle already. Better for me._ He let out an exasperated sigh as Mankey climbed onto his arm again.

"Hey, guys," he said as he approached them. They turned to face him.

"Hey, Todd!" said May. She sniffed. "Mmm, that smells great!" With a giggle, she noticed Mankey, hanging by his tail from Todd's forearm. "Looks like you found yourself a new friend, too!" she chirped.

"Did they give you that Pokémon with the meal?" Brendan teased.

Todd glared at him. "Ha-ha," he growled. "Now would you _get this off me!"_ He shook his arm, knocking Mankey down. The Pokémon gave him a sad look.

"Aw," May cooed. "Now you hurt his feelings, Todd."

Brendan grinned. "Here's your chance, man! Catch him!" He turned his chair to face his friend.

Todd looked mortified. "C-catch him!" he said, his voice going up nearly an octave. "B-but I'm a photographer, not a Trainer! I don't have time to train Pokémon! I don't even have a licence!"

To his irritation, Brendan's grin widened. "Excuses, excuses," the hooded boy said, wagging his index finger back and forth.

"Argh!" Todd put the bag down on the table. "Ah, forget it! Let it eat."

"No!" Brendan protested, his smirk vanishing instantly. "That way, _we_ won't have enough to eat!" He put on a glum expression as Mankey clambered onto the table, opened the cardboard box containing the fries, and started eating. Brendan grabbed a couple fries and stuffed them into his mouth, which Mankey didn't seem to mind.

"No' go'a e' _my_ friesh," he mumbled with his mouth full.

May giggled at the sight of Brendan and Mankey eating together. "Getting in touch with your inner Pokémon, Brendan?"

Mankey finished the fry he was eating, then rapidly turned around and leaped at Todd without warning. May and Brendan gasped, while Todd screamed with shock.

"Get it off!" he wailed as Mankey climbed first onto his shoulder and then onto his head. He raised his arms and attempted to pry the Pokémon off, but to no avail.

Brendan took an unused Pokéball from his belt and handed it to Todd. "Here!" he said. Todd momentarily let go of Mankey to grab the red-and-white sphere.

"Great," he muttered, wincing as Mankey pulled his wavy hair. "What do I do with this? Brendan!"

Brendan sniggered. "Need a little help there?"

"Maybe it wants more food," May suggested, opening her backpack and taking out a plastic container filled with Pokémon food. "Here, let me." She opened the container, a strong, earthy, yet appetizing smell wafting out.

"Mankey!" she called kindly, stroking the Pokémon's fur. "Look, this is much better than fries!"

"It just ate," Brendan said matter-of-factly. "It probably just wants to play."

"No, I'm sure it still wants to eat," May answered in the same tone of voice. But Mankey's only reaction was to chatter and wave a paw at May before it climbed on top of Todd's head.

"That's weird," said May, sitting down on a chair, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Maybe my recipe isn't as good as Brock's…"

"HA!" said Brendan with an annoying smirk. "Who's _right−"_ He pointed both thumbs at himself. "And who's _wrong?"_ He pointed with his index fingers at May.

He received a slap on the back of his head as a response.

Todd sighed. "Will somebody – _anybody –_ get this off me, please?" he moaned while Brendan complained that his head hurt, massaging the spot where May had hit him.

"This is very strange..." May mused out loud.

"I have a better idea," said Brendan, who had recovered. "Take off your shoe, Todd."

"You better know what you're doing," the photographer warned as Mankey put his paws over his eyes. He blindly reached for his shoe, dropping the Pokéball Brendan had given him in the process. He felt the shoelace and tugged at it, and the knot came loose.

Todd pulled off his shoe. "Now what?"

"Then you give it a good whack!" Brendan laughed.

May's jaw dropped all the way. "Are you _insane?" _she shrieked. "Do you−"

"I'll try it," said Todd as May rolled her eyes and harrumphed. His voice was muffled since Mankey had now decided to cover his mouth with his paws. He brought his arm up and whacked his assailant in the back with the shoe. The attack startled Mankey and he climbed off Todd. His red eyes glinted fiercely, the playful expression on his face gone. He let out a low growl and gave Todd an intense stare.

"Brendan, I'm never taking your advice again!" Todd squeaked, trembling as he held his arms close to his chest, still holding onto his shoe.

"Good idea," May agreed, sounding scared herself.

"Go and capture it already!" Brendan urged, not concerned in the least. He suppressed a snort of laughter at the sight of Todd wearing only one shoe, cowering in fear from the Pig Monkey.

Todd hesitated. But Mankey didn't. The furry Pokémon lunged at Todd, who waved his shoe back and forth in an attempt to drive him back.

"Why are you chasing me!" he shouted. "That's it!" His fear momentarily evaporated, replaced with bravado. Or was it madness? He wasn't sure and in any case, it didn't really matter. "Pokéball, go!" he yelled. In the heat of the moment, he threw Brendan's Pokéball at Mankey. The Pig Monkey tried to swat it away, but the ball opened anyway, engulfing him in a red glow and sucking him in.

_Please stay inside, _Todd prayed as the ball shook as vigorously as the Pokémon it had absorbed. _Please stay inside._ The three of them waited with anticipation, Todd most of all.

"It's sure taking a while," said Brendan as the ball continued to wiggle, the red light on the button blinking.

"Come on…" Todd said through gritted teeth.

Finally, it stopped moving. The red light flashed once, and then the Pokéball clicked.

Todd was breathless. "I did it," he murmured. His lips creased into a smile as he brimmed with excitement. "I caught a Mankey!" he shouted, pumping a fist into the air.

"Good job!" Brendan congratulated him, clapping him on the back so hard he nearly fell over.

"Congratulations!" said May warmly. "Your first Pokémon."

"Yeah…" said Todd, not really believing what had just happened. "I don't know what to say. I hope Mankey isn't too mad at me for hitting him with my shoe. I wasn't trying to hurt him or anything−"

Brendan put an arm around Todd's shoulders. "As Julian says, relax. Worrying's bad for your health. You and Mankey will get along fine."

Todd took a deep breath, releasing some of the tension. "I guess…" He brought the Pokéball up to eye level and smiled. "Go, Mankey!"

May took a fearful step back as Mankey came out, expecting him to act up again. But Mankey had relaxed since being captured. He walked up to Todd and chattered, gently climbing onto the photographer's outstretched arm.

"I get it now!" Todd came to a sudden realization. "Mankey," he said kindly. "You didn't just want food. You wanted a friend, didn't you?" Mankey nodded, making an affirmative sound.

"That's right," he continued, hugging the Pokémon and laughing as the smooth fur tickled his chin. Mankey immediately seemed to relax, its limbs becoming still and its chatter stopping.

"That's so sweet," May commented, clasping her hands together, her eyes glittering. "A Trainer and his new Pokémon− _Brendan, shut up!" _For some odd reason, Brendan was laughing to himself.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"I'm…" Brendan burst into laughter again, clutching his stomach while May deadpanned. "I'm sorry!" He wiped tears from his eyes. "I just…oh man, the way Todd came running in here…and Mankey climbing all over him…and the…" He snorted, breaking into another fit of laughter. "The shoe!" May sighed.

Todd turned to face his friends, Mankey hanging from his arm by his tail. "I don't know about you guys," he said. "But the smell of those burgers is making me delirious! Let's eat before they get cold."

"Agreed," said May.

"Let's dig in!" Brendan declared.

* * *

Mankey proved to be a handful, especially for a first-time Trainer like Todd. The photographer had spent much of the day getting the excitable Pokémon to stay in one spot, meeting with limited success on that front. While he hated the idea of leaving Mankey cooped up in his Pokéball all day, the Pig Monkey Pokémon was going to have to learn to take it easy. In any case, it was a huge relief to Todd that his new partner wasn't nearly as aggressive as the Pokédex seemed to suggest. Though Mankey hardly ever stopped moving, he at least listened most of the time when Todd gave him an order…for the first five minutes or so. By around eight that evening, Mankey had tired himself out, and Todd breathed a sigh of relief as he recalled his Pokémon.

Brendan had insisted on Todd registering as an official Pokémon Trainer, and he'd reluctantly agreed. Why he'd done so, the photographer mused throughout the day, he didn't know. Something about Brendan's cheery, optimistic attitude inspired him. He didn't _have _to register for the Johto League and go around challenging the Gyms with Brendan, after all. And the Hoenn boy had made it clear he wasn't going to pressure Todd. In any case, this would require May and Todd to go to New Bark Town, to the west, after May's Contest tomorrow. Professor Elm, whose laboratory was located there, was the only one in Johto with the authority to give new Trainers their licences. Brendan had offered to accompany them as far as New Bark Town, and they'd heartily agreed.

It was almost ten at night now, and May and Todd were still up, talking about anything from Contests to food to the tourist traps they'd unsuccessfully tried to avoid while wandering through Coastline City.

"You know," said Todd. "If you'd told me this morning that I'd catch my first Pokémon today, I wouldn't have believed you." He stared at Mankey's Pokéball with a hint of admiration as he lay on his bed.

"It was quite the adventure, wasn't it?" May agreed. She giggled to herself as she noticed him eyeing the Pokéball. The goofy grin and wavy hair falling on his face made him look a bit dorky, his baggy clothing completing the ensemble in an endearing sort of way. He wore a white, short-sleeved undershirt and jeans, both of which were clearly too large for his skinny frame.

Todd, oblivious to May's thoughts, continued: "So I guess we're hitting the road in a couple days."

"Mmm." May nodded. "I'm so excited for tomorrow! Nervous, yeah, but mostly excited!"

Todd laughed. "That's understandable. How long's it been since your last Contest, May?"

May removed her green bandanna and set it on the nightstand next to her bed. "Well, the Kanto Grand Festival was a month and a half ago. But Ash and I participated in a Contest in Terracotta Town, in southern Kanto, a couple weeks after that."

Todd nearly dropped Mankey's Pokéball as he sat upright on the bed. "Ash? In a Contest?" he asked, as though unable to believe what he'd just heard.

"Surprisingly, yes," May said, following up with a giggle. "He participated in a couple Contests with me in Kanto, and at Terracotta Town, it was me versus him in the finals."

"Really?" Todd's eyes widened. "How'd that go?"

May crossed her legs on the bed. "We tied. It looked like Ash's Sceptile was gaining the upper hand in our battle at first, but then Combusken evolved."

"That must've been some battle." Todd stretched his arms to his sides and relaxed them, lying down on his left side as he faced May.

"It was." May recalled the excitement she'd felt going up against one of Ash's star fighters. The cheering of the crowd, to the beat of Lillian's enthusiastic commentary, came back to her in that instant. Tomorrow, she'd feel that excitement again!

Todd laughed again. "I couldn't imagine Brendan taking part in one of those Contests," he said. "Could you?"

"No way!" May exclaimed, laughing along with him at the mere thought. "That boy's a Trainer, through and through." She glanced at the door. "Can you believe he went out at this time of night to train? Ash would usually be asleep right about now. Whenever he wasn't falling off his bed in the middle of the night, that is."

Todd snorted, breaking out into a fresh round of laughter. "Man, he still does that? I remember, every night at the Pokémon Centre…"

They talked about their adventures with Ash for a few minutes, making a few harmless jokes at the Pallet Trainer's expense. But the conversation soon turned back to May's Contest tomorrow morning.

"You'll win it," said Todd confidently. "I'm sure you will. I've seen your Contest moves on TV, and we trained hard with Brendan this week."

"That's true," said May. "He really put me through the grinder, didn't he?"

Todd nodded, fiddling with a loose thread on the hem of his sleeve. "He says so himself. The best Trainers are the most intense."

"He helped me out so much, though." May looked away for a moment, her eyes focused on the crème-coloured drapes covering the sliding glass pane that led out to the balcony. From where Todd was sitting, it appeared she'd been distracted by something.

"He'd better get back soon, at any rate," he said, twisting a knob on the side of the wall next to his bed to dim the nearby wall sconce. He stifled a yawn. "I'm starting to get tired."

"You've had a tiring day," May said with a smile. Todd smiled back, picking up his Pokéball from the bed. He was going to have to get a belt clip like Brendan and May had, he thought as he put the red and white sphere onto the nightstand next to him.

"True. But Mankey's already growing on me." He wasn't able to suppress a yawn this time, covering his mouth with his hand and apologizing.

May shook her head. "That's alright. How about you get some rest now? I'll wait for Brendan in front of the Centre, alright?"

"You sure?" Truth was, this bed looked awfully inviting right now, particularly as he was already lying on it.

"Yeah!" May stood up, put on her backpack, and grabbed the card key to their room from her nightstand. "He shouldn't be too long, anyway. I'll be quiet coming back in, I promise."

He smiled, putting his head down on the pillow and waving. "Thanks, May."

"No problem!"

And with that, May put on her shoes and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. _It's going to be a big day for her and Brendan tomorrow, _Todd thought as he turned off the wall sconce. He glanced at Mankey's Pokéball one last time before pulling the white bed sheet over his shoulders and closing his eyes. _Let's watch what happens, Mankey. I think this'll be the start of something big for both of them._

_

* * *

_

**Finally, this chapter's done! This was a particularly tough section for me to work on, as I wasn't quite sure how to develop the story at this point, but against all odds, my beta and I did it. So, as always, a huge thank-you goes first and foremost to Wanderer Bard. His careful attention to detail and infinite patience with all of my writer's quirks are truly commendable. Next, I thank all of the people who have reviewed this story and faved and alerted me. Of those, special mention goes to Aron and Rocky373 for their long, detailed critique of Chapter 1 and Cerulean City, Geta-Boushi Dobby-san, and Megalink1126 for their solid and consistent reviews. Hope you enjoyed this month's installment of IAWNW! As always, constructive feedback is welcome, and the review button can be found below for anyone wishing to offer it.**


	6. Old Rival, New Stage

**Chapter 6: Old Rival, New Stage**

"So this is a Contest Hall, huh?"

Brendan tried to sound blasé, but May and Todd didn't miss the hint of awe in his voice. Outside, the Contest Hall appeared as nothing more than a large but plain rectangular structure with while walls. Inside, however, the building was quite elegant, with dark wooden furnishings with gold borders and emerald-green tiles on the floor. Mid-morning light filtered in through tall, glazed windows, giving the reception area a cheery, welcoming appearance. Though May was used to the opulent surroundings from having participated in dozens of Contests, she knew they could be intimidating at first, especially to a Trainer like Brendan who was used to roughing it in the wild.

Thanks to Brendan's insistence, May had woken up at nine this morning, a couple hours before she usually did. After eating some breakfast, the three friends had made their way to the Contest Hall, where a receptionist behind a polished marble desk confirmed May's entry and gave Brendan and Todd tickets to see the show. Right now, they stood in front of a hallway which lead to the dressing rooms: May would be headed that way shortly in order to prepare her costume and makeup. They'd arrived an hour in advance, which gave her plenty of time to chat with the boys before she got herself ready.

The Pokémon which had been resting on Brendan's shoulder slipped off, and Brendan grunted as he caught him in his arms. The newest member of his team was a small bird, about half a metre tall, with feathers darker than the darkest night. As he fell, the bird flapped his wings wildly in surprise, emitting harsh, panicked caws from his large and ungainly yellow beak. His spindly yellow legs flailed wildly, and Brendan yelled in pain as the three claws on each of his Pokémon's feet scratched his arms.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, Murkrow," Brendan said in a soothing tone, petting the bird's hat-like head feathers. "I didn't mean to let you fall."

_"Murkrow,"_ the Darkness Pokémon cawed petulantly, turning his head to the side in a show of defiance.

"I've got some Pokémon treats for you," Brendan continued in a singsong voice. Murkrow opened one lazy eye, revealing a red iris and white pupil. He warbled softly in his throat, as though considering his options.

May and Todd gave Brendan amused looks. "I still can't believe you went out last night at ten thirty just to train," May said with a laugh.

_"And_ you caught yourself another Pokémon," Todd chimed in.

Brendan grinned that infectious grin of his. "Yeah, I'm cool like that," he said in a 'no big deal' manner. Meanwhile, Murkrow flew onto the crown of his head, mollified.

May scoffed, exchanging an eye roll with Todd. "Uh-_huh."_

With an upward glance at his Pokémon, Brendan took off his backpack from his shoulders and dug out a plastic container filled with small brown seeds. Setting the container on a nearby bench and removing the lid with a soft click, Brendan said, "Here, Murkrow. You'll love these." Murkrow glided down to the bench and sniffed apprehensively at the proffered meal. Deciding that it was to his satisfaction, the black bird began eating his fill.

"He's a tough little guy." Brendan's voice carried a touch of pride. "He was the only one out of the entire flock who stayed to battle us, you know."

"That was pretty risky, though, attacking a whole flock of Murkrow like that," Todd admonished, crossing one foot over the other. "You're lucky they all didn't come after you or we'd still be looking for the pieces."

"Yeah, Brendan!" May added. "What were you thinking?"

"Look at that, Murkrow," said Brendan, shaking his head. "They have no faith in me." He placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt, and the other two had a good laugh. Brendan eventually gave in, laughing along with them.

"May!" a voice called out.

Their laughter died down as they turned to see who had spoken. May froze in place, gulping as a tingle passed through her body.

"D-Drew!" she said, sounding mildly surprised.

Drew smirked bemusedly as he approached the others. "You're _surprised _to see me?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

May stuttered incomprehensibly, breathing rapidly and twisting her fingers. Closing her mouth, she tried again. "Um, uh, no, it's just…I mean, I'm not surprised to see you, you're competing and everything…" Truth was, May didn't know how to explain it.

Thankfully, she didn't have to, as Drew didn't press the matter. The green-haired boy smiled as he said, "I hope you remember what I told you about developing your own style."

"Of course I do," May answered, calming down somewhat.

"Don't be too nervous, okay?"

May nodded. "Mmm-hmm!" She motioned to Todd and Brendan, who had remained silent during the exchange. "Drew, this is Brendan" –she turned to the hooded boy– "He's from Hoenn, too. And you remember Todd."

_So…this is Drew,_ Brendan thought as he gave the green-haired boy a once-over. _May mentioned him a couple times. Said he was her rival in the Hoenn and Kanto Contests. _"Nice to meet you," he said curtly, an inexplicable tension gripping his body. For some reason, Drew made him feel odd. Defensive. _But why?_

"Same here," Drew said, his greeting equally firm. They shook hands, each holding the other's in an iron grip. Their knuckles turned white from the pressure before they let go, May noticed, her surprise showing itself in a momentary twitch of her eyebrows. Todd narrowed his eyes slightly, having picked up on the tension as well. When Drew greeted him, however, he didn't let it show, returning the other's "Hey, Todd" with enthusiasm.

Pleasantries exchanged, Drew checked the red Pokétch that circled his wrist. "Well, guys," he said with what Brendan swore was a smug smile. "May and I should get going" –Brendan grimaced at 'May and I,' the tension within him spiking– "See you around!"

Todd wished May good luck, but Brendan's mouth suddenly dried. He wanted to say something – something special – but it was as if his lips had been sealed shut. Why? Why was he standing there with that silly grin on his face? After what felt like an eternity, but was in reality barely a second, he hastily blurted out: "We're rooting for you, May!"

May turned as she was about to leave with Drew, giving Brendan a sweet smile. "Thanks, Brendan."

"Y-yeah," he stammered almost inaudibly, cursing the blush he felt slowly creeping up his face. And with that, May and Drew went into the hall behind him and made their way to the dressing rooms. Brendan remained motionless, his eyes on the pair of Coordinators. His hands hurt, and he realized he had been clenching his fists the entire time since Drew arrived.

"Anything wrong, Brendan?" Todd asked. Brendan came out of his funk with a jolt, as though just realizing his friend was there.

"Nah, nothing really," Brendan answered, inclining his head away from Drew.

"You sure?"

Brendan paused for a moment, then continued hesitantly. "Do, uh…" He cleared his throat. "Do May and Drew, uh…have a…a thing?"

"Wha…?" Todd said weakly, taken aback at Brendan's direct question.

_Crap, why did I ask that? _Brendan thought, immediately regretting opening his mouth. He was about to apologize and tell Todd to forget about it when Todd spoke again.

"I…don't _think _they're going out," Todd continued uncertainly. "May told me he was just a rival in the Contests." He recalled May and Drew's encounter last week, and how flustered May had seemed, though he didn't mention this to the other boy. _It might be best not to bring that up right now, _he thought. Brendan's reaction to meeting Drew had planted suspicions in Todd's mind, and his question just now had confirmed those suspicions.

"Y-yeah," said Brendan, a glimmer of relief on his face. He remained silent for a moment before commenting that he was excited for his upcoming Gym battle. Todd pretended not to notice how quickly Brendan had changed topics. _It makes sense, _the photographer thought as Brendan went on about his previous battles against Hoenn's Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains. _Brendan likes May, but he thinks she might like Drew, which makes him jealous. Though I'm not sure _who_ May likes, to be honest. If she likes anyone at all right now._

_ In any case, it's none of my business,_ Todd decided as he listened to more of Brendan's battling stories. He'd never really understood all this business about liking someone or having a crush. All of that romantic stuff. For him, there was nothing easier and more satisfying in life than his photography, and that was that.

* * *

The boys continued talking until Brendan noticed that the Contest would begin in half an hour. They made their way to the growing line of spectators, who waited in a red-carpeted hallway that led away from the reception area and into the Hall proper. A kindly, uniformed man with white gloves greeted the spectators at an impressive mahogany door, checking for tickets. Brendan whistled to himself. _Pretty high-end. You'd never guess, considering it's only ten bucks a ticket…Johto money, too. _As they went into the vast auditorium itself, he noticed that this opulence continued. Columns of marble steps were interspersed between rows of velvet-padded seats, a gold railing providing support on each side of the stairway. At the front of the auditorium was a massive stage with an official Pokémon League size battlefield, on the far right of which stood three white podiums. Two giant plasma screens hung from the ceiling, one high above the stage and another, a bit lower and over the podiums.

"What are those podiums for?" Brendan asked Todd as they squeezed into a row and headed for their seats.

"That's where the judges sit," Todd answered. They sat down in their seats, about halfway down the stairs and a bit left of centre.

"They decide whether contestants make it to the battle round, right?"

"That, and they also decide how well contestants do in the battle round itself," Todd slouched in the comfortable leather chair, sighing contentedly. "I love these chairs…" He stared up at the massive light fixtures that illuminated the auditorium.

"Whoever built this place must be loaded," said Brendan, relaxing into his own chair. He suddenly felt out of place in his T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers, even though most of the other spectators were dressed just as casually as he was. There was something about Contests that spoke of class and haute couture.

"More like they receive some very generous donations. You'd be surprised at who comes out to watch Contests."

Brendan snorted. "I've heard they're popular with the bigwigs. Don't watch TV myself, but all the guys back home talk about which celebrity went to which Contest."

"Is that why you don't like Contests?"

"Nah, they're just not my style." Brendan grinned. "But May's competing in this one, so that's different."

"Yeah…" Todd shared his friend's smile. At that moment, the lights went out except for a single spotlight, which shone on the centre of the stage.

_It's starting, _Brendan thought. _Let's see what these Contests are all about._

* * *

May twirled in front of the mirror in the ladies' room, getting the feel of the new dress she had bought for her Contests. _Not that the Contest should be about me in the first place – it's about my Pokémon – but I'm really happy with this one. It looks just perfect! I hope everyone else likes it too._

_"Eevee,"_ said a small voice. May glanced at Eevee, who had been sitting patiently on a stool while she got dressed.

"We worked hard with Brendan and Todd," May said, picking up the light furry mammal. "It all comes down to today. We're facing Drew again…" At the thought of Drew, her mouth suddenly felt dry.

"Drew…" she whispered, walking out into another hall which she knew lead to a wing behind the stage. Other Coordinators walked back and forth, nervous for their upcoming performances or just excited for the Contest to begin. May made her way to the front of the hall and leaned against the wall, which had been painted a relaxing pastel blue. She stole a glance at the entrance to the men's room, then looked around.

_Drew isn't here_, she thought to herself. _He's probably still changing. Anyway, I shouldn't be thinking about this! The Contest's about to start._She took a deep breath. _You can do this, May! You'll beat Drew and get your first Johto ribbon today!_

"May."

She looked up to see Drew standing in front of her. He was immaculately dressed in a dark blue suit, under which he wore a white shirt and a red bowtie. His green hair was perfectly combed. His Roselia stood next to him; like his trainer, he seemed perfectly calm and in control of his emotions. _I wish I could be that confident, _May thought.

"I've never seen you dressed up before," she said, taking in Drew's appearance. "You look great."

"So do you," he replied with a hint of a smile. "That's some dress you're wearing."

May blushed. "Thanks, Drew. That means a lot, coming from you."

Drew laughed. "Of course, the clothes don't make the Coordinator. I hope you're ready for this."

May felt a touch of irritation. _Can't this guy say something nice without turning it around afterward, _she mentally grumbled. But she kept her thoughts to herself, giving Drew a smug look. "I'm definitely ready!" she said. "Eevee and I have been practicing all week for this Contest, and I know we'll win!"

Drew laughed again. It wasn't his usual condescending laugh, but more an acknowledgement of May as a worthy opponent. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," he chuckled. "But I _will _see you at the final, May."

"Count on that," May answered. _You'll see me alright, when I get that ribbon!_

* * *

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" said the announcer, who had appeared on stage moments after the spotlight went on. The microphone she was holding amplified her clear, enthusiastic voice. "I'm Christina, your announcer for today!"

"Dude…" said Todd, a vapid look on his face.

"I must've died and gone to heaven," Brendan murmured in agreement, wearing the same clueless expression and having temporarily forgotten all about May. Their sentiment was shared by almost all the males in the audience, who gazed enraptured at the announcer. Christina's dark skin was smooth and flawless, while her hair, black with light brown highlights, hung down to the base of her shoulders in vivacious curls. Her full lips, curled into a smile, shone with a smooth red gloss; a pair of small diamond earrings studded her ears. She wore a blue sleeveless top, white pants, and gold-coloured shoes with a flowery design on the front.

"Coordinators have come from all over the Johto region and beyond to partake in this show of beauty and excellence," Christina said excitedly. "Looking at today's line up, we can expect to see some dazzling performances, folks. So let's get this Contest under way!"

The audience erupted in applause. Despite not knowing much about Contests, Brendan was caught up in the excitement, standing and cheering as well. He suspected some of the enthusiasm derived from the crowd's appreciation for Christina.

"Now," the announcer continued. "Allow me to introduce the judges!" As though on command, the spotlight shifted from her onto the judges' panel, where two men in suits and a Nurse Joy were sitting.

"First, we have Contest Director Mr. Raul Contesta!" Christina pointed to the first man, who looked to be in his mid-forties and had olive skin. His black hair showed streaks of gray, though his eyes received the audience with firm vivacity as he stood up and waved. He wore a red suit with a white shirt and black tie.

After the audience applauded politely for Contesta, Christina introduced the man sitting next to him: "Next, Pokémon Fan Club President Mr. Youichi Sukizo!" Sukizo was a cheerful-looking man with a round face and black hair, who wore a drab gray suit. He stood up, bowed, and sat back down. There was more applause.

_Where do they find these people? _Brendan thought as he clapped mechanically. _They're so stiff. Guess I shouldn't be surprised, though; it's all part of the atmosphere._

"Finally, we have Coastline City's very own Nurse Joy!" said Christina, exuberantly waving an arm at the pink-haired Nurse. There was even more applause for Nurse Joy than there was for the other two judges. This time, Brendan clapped enthusiastically along with the crowd. _This Nurse Joy may be a bit nosy, but she's taken care of my Pokémon so many times this past week._ The nurse, interestingly enough, looked rather shy and withdrawn from all the attention, hunching her shoulders in embarrassment.

Christina continued: "The winner of today's Contest will receive the gorgeous Coastline Ribbon, which will count toward the Grand Festival." As she said this, an enlarged image of a gold medal tied onto a deep green bow appeared on the plasma screen above the stage.

_"That's _a ribbon?" Brendan exclaimed in a whisper to Todd, nudging him with his elbow. However, the photographer wasn't paying attention. He was digging through his handbag, setting up his photographic equipment. Brendan shrugged and turned his attention back to the stage.

"…need five ribbons to participate in the Grand Festival," Christina continued, "which will be held in Alto Mare next May. So with that in mind…let the Contest begin!" The auditorium erupted into a deafening cheer, though Brendan and Todd didn't get up from their seats the way the rest of the audience did. While Brendan wasn't too excited about the whole affair, Todd was hurriedly setting his camera on top of a tripod and calibrating it so that his pictures wouldn't turn out wobbly.

The cheering subsided, and Christina smiled, preparing to announce the contestants. "Our first contestant," she said, "is Isabel from Whitestone!"

An auburn-haired girl in a shimmering gold dress appeared from an entrance to the backstage wing, marching up the steps to the podium to the sound of cheers from her fans. She twirled in an elegant pirouette, releasing a Breloom from its Pokéball as she did so. The Mushroom Pokémon flipped in the air as it was released, landing gracefully in the middle of the battlefield. Isabel gave Breloom a series of commands, and the Pokémon performed some complicated manoeuvres which emphasized its Fighting characteristics.

_Not bad, _thought Brendan as he watched Breloom execute punch after punch with almost flawless precision and blazing speed. _Guess there might be more to Contests than just sitting back and being eye candy._ Christina commented on Breloom's performance with her usual gusto, then turned it over to the judges, who did the same. Isabel beamed with pride at the judges' praise and the cheers from the audience which followed. She bowed, then turned and disappeared backstage. Brendan noticed Todd taking careful photos, tweaking his machine to get just the right angle and lighting. _Practice for when May comes on, _he thought. _I can't wait to see her._

Contestant after contestant showed off their Pokémon in brilliant displays of skill. Some of the acts, Brendan thought, were truly amazing. Having thought Contests were too refined for his tastes, he had never been to one before and would roll his eyes whenever people back home talked about them. But now that he saw the results of their labours, he felt he was beginning to appreciate what Coordinators like May worked for.

Eventually, Christina announced: "Our next Coordinator is the well-known Princess of Hoenn, May Maple, who has performed at both a Hoenn and a Kanto Grand Festival. So let's give it up for May!" The audience erupted into cheers once again, Brendan and Todd being the loudest of all.

_Here she comes, _thought Brendan.

* * *

May had been waiting patiently in the wings next to Drew, her back against the wall, when she heard Christina's voice call out her name.

"Go out there," Drew said with a sincere smile. "And give it your best."

"Thanks, Drew," she answered before taking a deep breath. _My Johto debut. We can do this, Eevee and I. _She walked on stage to the sound of hundreds of cheering voices, taking comfort in the fact that Brendan and Todd were among them.

Brendan had to keep his jaw from dropping as May entered. He felt his heart begin to pound, the blood rushing to his face, the sensation that had become so familiar over the past two years washing over him. May wore a gown made of light pink silk with intricate lace designs sewn onto the hem of the arms, neck, and base. Without being too tight, the gown gently hugged her body. It extended to her ankles, her feet covered by silver dance slippers with a low heel. As she moved, Brendan noticed with a flush of guilty pleasure the short but visible cuts on the sides of the dress, which opened as May walked and exposed her calves. Her auburn hair hung loosely in waves, partially hidden by the gold veil she had tied over her head. The translucent silk fabric cascaded over her shoulders and onto her chest and back.

_Damn, _Brendan thought. _She's gorgeous. _He noticed nothing else around him anymore, his eyes focused only on May. Even Christina had nothing on her, he thought. The cheers of the audience seemed to vanish, melting into the gentle _shush_ of white noise, and when Todd accidentally dropped a piece of equipment onto Brendan's forearm, he didn't even flinch or turn around. Todd opened his mouth to say sorry, then thought better of it as he noticed his friend's preoccupation.

But May didn't notice how enthralled Brendan was as she smiled and waved at the audience. With a gentle swish of her hand, she threw her Pokéball out in front of her. "Eevee, take the stage!" she called out. The long-eared mammal emerged with a series of front flips, landing gracefully in the centre of the stage.

"And May calls out Eevee!" said Christina. "It's one of her newer Pokémon, but a wise choice nonetheless, seeing as it's been very successful in past Contests. Just what can we expect to see from them today?"

"Eevee, use Shadow Ball!" May ordered. The Evolution Pokémon tensed up, opening her mouth wide in preparation for the attack. A sphere of dark purple energy formed in front of her open maw, and she fired not one but several Shadow Balls into the air. With calculated precision, Eevee tilted slightly each time before firing, resulting in an intricate pattern of dark orbs swirling and twisting through the air. The entire scene gave off the impression of an eerie inversion of a light show, the Shadow Balls absorbing the light from the auditorium and creating a dynamic flow of light and shadow. The crowd was silent: not with boredom, but with awe.

"Now, Eevee, more Shadow Balls!" Eevee did as she was told, firing ten more Shadow Balls in a straight line. "And leap through them with Quick Attack!"

A murmur of confusion travelled through the audience. "Now that's an odd thing to do," Christina commented.

"What's she _doing?"_ Brendan whispered, confused. He hadn't seen May and Todd practice this move before.

But Todd was confident. "You'll see," he whispered back.

Eevee picked up tremendous speed as she ran across the length of the battlefield, aiming for the line of Shadow Balls. The audience winced as Eevee hit the first orb, but they soon realized what was happening. Eevee quickly tore through the ten Shadow Balls, each of them breaking apart into a cloud of glimmering purple dust as she did so. She landed on the ground softly, bowing her head as May did the same.

The performance was over, and the crowd ate it up. The noise was thunderous, applause, cheers, and whistles shaking the auditorium.

"Yeah, May!" Brendan roared. "That was _sick!"_ _May knew Eevee wouldn't be harmed by the Ghost-type Shadow Ball, since it's a Normal-type,_ he thought._ That wasn't just sweet, that was pure genius!_

Christina couldn't get enough of May's performance, though her voice was drowned out by the audience. "…beautiful," she was saying. "Let's see what the judges have to say about this!"

"Absolutely astonishing," said Contesta in his dignified voice. "May caught us all by surprise, but it was well worth it to see this ingenious performance."

"Truly remarkable!" said Sukizo excitedly. "May and Eevee displayed a high amount of skill in their performance, cleverly utilizing type advantages."

"That was lovely, May!" said Nurse Joy, turning so as to look at May directly. "You and your Eevee did very well. It's obvious that you work hard, and today, it's paid off."

May's reaction was simply to bow again before humbly retreating from the stage. Her heart raced and she was panting as she walked briskly backstage. _That worked better than I ever could've imagined. Listen to them all cheer! And the judges just loved it._

Drew was the first person waiting for her outside the locker rooms, his expression neutral as he leaned against the blue wall. As May approached, he allowed a thin smile to come across his lips.

"That was smart, May," he said. His voice, for once, was warm instead of patronizing.

May returned the smile. "Thank you," she said. "That means a lot." Even a few months ago, she would be trembling, stuttering as she tried to find the words to express her thanks for his praise. Now, though he still startled her at times, she didn't feel the choking tension around him that she did in the past. Those feelings of insecurity and inferiority had vanished, replaced by a budding confidence.

Drew, too, had recognized that the gap between their talents had closed.

"You put on quite a show," he replied. "I−"

"…Drew from LaRousse City in Hoenn!" Christina's announcement cut him off.

"See you in the second round," Drew said briskly, turning and walking away.

May held out a hand, as though to hold him back, but he didn't see it. "Good luck," she whispered.

Drew sauntered boldly onto the stage, the crowd as wild as ever as he calmly took his position on the side of the battlefield opposite to the judges. Upon seeing him enter, Brendan felt a sudden and inexplicable rush of irritation. _That guy sure looks confident, _he thought to himself, his hands balling unconsciously into fists. _Like he thinks he's gonna win it all today._

The green-haired Coordinator took a Pokéball out of the lapel of his dark blue jacket and threw it out in front of him with an elegant motion of his hand. "Come out, Roselia!" he called. The Pokéball opened with its usual flash, but it was accompanied by a flurry of pink petals, from within which Roselia emerged. The Thorn Pokémon landed deftly on his feet and bowed, the bright lights on stage giving his green skin a healthy glow.

"Now this is a real treat!" Christina gushed, gripping her microphone with a trembling hand. "The timing of Roselia's Petal Dance – just as it was coming out of its Pokéball – acted just like a Seal would, except that Drew isn't using one! The performance hasn't even _started_ yet, and Drew's already managed to wow us all!"

_You can say that again, _Brendan thought as the excitement in the audience reached a fever pitch. _Let's see what this guy's got, if he thinks he can top May's performance._

He didn't have to wait long. "Roselia, pirouette while releasing a Petal Dance from your left!" said Drew, the green-haired Coordinator's voice firm. Roselia responded instantly, making deft steps as he began rotating his small, lithe body. In that same movement, he raised his left arm and shot out a flurry of petals, which spiralled around him as he moved. Brendan noticed that Roselia's use of his left arm was deliberate: instead of the usual pink, his Petal Dance was the same vivid blue as the petals of the rose on his left arm. This was not lost on the audience and judges either, the latter of whom chatted animatedly amongst each other as they took in the performance.

Brendan discerned a slight smile which formed on Drew's face as the Coordinator gave his next order. "Now, use Solar Beam!" he ordered. Roselia moved into his next attack seamlessly, the petals on his rose-like hands becoming still as he brought them together. After a couple slower spins, he stood still facing the audience. The petals began to glow, a faint yellow sparkle at first which gradually became brighter until the Thorn Pokémon appeared to be holding two miniature suns. Gasps, 'ooh's, and 'aah's could be heard in the audience as Roselia gathered its light energy.

Drew's Pokémon suddenly released a column of light, which shot up vertically and was accompanied a millisecond later by a blasting noise and a whoosh of air. But Roselia had somehow managed to contain the power of his attack so that it stopped at a certain point, well below the roof of the auditorium. Brendan could feel, more than see, the audience's shock and wonder.

"That's amazing," Todd whispered. Brendan nodded unconsciously. _It takes a hell of a lot of skill to control an attack like that, _the hooded boy thought to himself as Roselia's Solar Beam illuminated the scenario it had created in brilliant white light. More and more, he was coming to recognize, if not necessarily respect, Drew's skill. Not just any Pokémon could do what Roselia was doing…and do so with such fluid grace, on top of that. Roselia was elegant, its movements complicated without being wasteful. _It's pretty agile, too, _Brendan thought. _I wonder if he battles too._

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is breathtaking," said Christina, headily taking in the incredible sight the combination of just two attacks alone had produced. "I'm sure the judges will be very impressed!" Drew and Roselia bowed, indicating that they'd finished their appeal. The crowd cheered wildly, and many people in the audience even gave the Coordinator a standing ovation.

"I'll admit it," Brendan said to Todd, who had been just as enraptured by Drew's performance as everyone else. "He's good."

Todd remained silent for a moment, then replied, "Yeah…this is what May's been up against for the past two years."

"Phenomenal," said Contesta heartily, his voice echoing through the speakers. "We have been treated to many of Drew's performances over the years. Just when you think he can't get any better, he takes it to a whole new level."

"Drew's performance was remarkable!" Sukizo agreed, the excitement raising the pitch of his voice so that it was almost squeaky. "A vivid display of beauty and prowess that engaged the senses, exhibiting Roselia's abilities to the fullest. Look at how the light reflects and refracts off the petals, painting the atmosphere in brilliant hues. And this, the result of only two moves!"

"Amazing," Nurse Joy followed up. "I'm…I'm at a loss for words. Drew…" The nurse gestured and tried to describe her opinion, and Brendan wrinkled his nose as she did so. "He definitely knows how to show off his skill as a Coordinator. His performance…I mean…it was a beautiful and a…a creative work of art." Brendan chuckled to himself. _She wasn't at much of a 'loss for words' last week, when I had gotten off that ship._

There was another round of cheering, Drew's supporters jumping up and down in front of their seats as their hero calmly made his way backstage. More than once, a 'We love you, Drew!' was heard over the general noise of the crowd. _The guy's got skill, _Brendan thought, sharing a glance with Todd. _But it doesn't mean May can't beat him in the second round._

After seven more appeals, the first round was over. In a few seconds, Christina would be announcing the judges' decision on who would be competing in the battle round. The plasma screen above the stage turned black for a moment, then changed to show eight empty green boxes on a light blue background. Only eight Coordinators would be lucky enough to fill those boxes. Brendan literally sat on the edge of his seat, waiting for the impending judgement with bated breath. Todd glanced at him, noticing that the other boy's hands trembled.

"Come on, May," Brendan whispered.

"Don't worry, man, she'll make it," Todd whispered back.

"I know, but−"

Christina's amplified voice cut him off. "The judges have made their decision!" she declared, holding her microphone with both hands, eyes full of eager anticipation. "The following eight Coordinators," –she emphasized the word 'eight'– "will advance to the second round! Mr. Contesta, if you may?"

"Certainly," said the red-suited judge, pressing a button to the side of his desk.

* * *

All the contestants' eyes were glued to a screen identical to the one hanging over the stage as they anxiously awaited the results of the appeals round. May's heart raced furiously, and she glanced at Drew. _Do I even stand a chance?_

There was a loud beep, and the face of a Coordinator appeared in the top left box. May recognized her as Cindy, a girl with short cerulean hair who had entered with an Azumarill. She clasped her hands together. _Please, please let me make it!_

BEEP! May jolted as she saw Drew's picture appear next to Cindy's. She couldn't help smiling knowingly. _Of course he'd make it, with the show he put on today._

BEEP! Another Coordinator's face popped up on the screen. Then, with another beep, a fourth one…

The fifth beep sounded, and May gave an involuntary gasp of combined relief and joy as she saw her own face appear in the bottom left corner. _I made it, _she thought, her mouth opening into a smile. _I made it into the second round!_ She was so excited that she barely registered three more beeps, which corresponded to the last three Coordinators who would advance.

Christina's voice crackled over the intercom once more before May could gather her thoughts. "With the eight Coordinators selected, we will now determine the match-ups!" said the exuberant announcer.

In the audience, Brendan and Todd cheered wildly. "She made it!" Brendan said, gripping the arms of his seat tightly. "I mean, I knew she would, but still!"

"The second round's gonna be intense!" the photographer added with the same enthusiasm, camera at the ready.

The display on the large screen changed, the Coordinators' pictures becoming smaller and rearranging themselves on the bottom. A black line shot out from the top of each picture and then cornered to join up with the line next to it, so that the eight lines became four. May, Drew, and the other six finalists watched as each new line led to another small green box. Another set of lines shot out from the middle row of four boxes, leading to the two boxes representing the Coordinators who would compete in the final battle.

May's first opponent was the girl called Cindy. The two Coordinators gave each other a momentary glance of understanding. They knew that only one of them would have a chance at winning it all after the first set of battles.

"Good luck, May," said Drew as she was redirecting her glance toward the screen. Drew, she noticed, would be facing a brown-haired boy who used a Machoke. _Was he even paying attention to whom he'd battle, _she thought, _or doesn't it matter to him?_

May turned to Drew. "Y-you too," she said, her voice shaky from a renewed sense of nervousness. She knew from experience that Drew's sangfroid could do that to his opponents. At the same time, it simply made her want to prove herself all the more.

And in a matter of moments, she would get the opportunity to do just that.

* * *

Brendan and Todd kept their eyes on the screen as it switched displays again. This time, the centre was taken up by a large image of the Coastline Ribbon, with a picture of May to its left and one of Cindy to its right. Right underneath each Coordinator was a narrow, rectangular yellow metre.

"May and Cindy, please make your way to the stage!" said Christina. The two girls needed no urging, already walking onto the stage. May took her position in front of the judges' panel, Cindy going to the opposite side.

_So May's up first, _thought Brendan with a sharp intake of breath, staring intensely at the stage. _Wonder how good of a battler Cindy is._

"You all know how this works?" Christina continued. "You have five minutes in which to test your battling skills. Each Coordinator starts with a hundred points, and the one with the greater number of points remaining moves on to the next round." She motioned to the judges with a flourishing wave of her arm. "Also, if the judges declare a Pokémon unfit for battle, its Coordinator will lose the round _even if they have more points."_ She emphasized the end of her sentence, a sternness creeping into her voice. "So! You may now begin!"

May sent out Eevee, while Cindy called on her Azumarill, and the two began to battle. It quickly became obvious that May had greater skill than her opponent, as Eevee easily dodged Azumarill's attacks one after the other. Brendan was amazed at how economical and yet elegant the Pokémon's moves were: Contest battles had none of the unrefined execution of commands regular battles did, he noticed, but they were intense in their own way.

"I underestimated May after our battle yesterday," Brendan admitted, hands clasped together. "Look at her! She's really in her element here!"

"I know!" Todd agreed, glancing at his friend before returning to gaze into his camera and take a few more pictures. The photographer's hands were a blur as he continuously adjusted the position of his tripod and the settings on his camera. Nevertheless, he eagerly paid attention to the battle, occasionally commenting excitedly. Brendan felt a temporary rush of admiration for his friend. _That he can focus on so many things at the same time like that…gotta give him credit._

Though one had to give the Aqua Rabbit credit for holding out against Eevee for over four minutes, the latter ultimately prevailed. When the audience began chanting May's name, Brendan and Todd eagerly joined in. May and Cindy shook hands in a show of sportsmanship, after which they retreated backstage.

"Well, look who's up next," said Brendan as Christina announced the next battle. The cheering for May died down immediately as Drew and the Machoke Trainer took the stage next, facing each other off.

"From what May told me, Drew's battling skills are nothing to scoff at," said Todd, gently adjusting the lens on his camera and propping it back on his tripod. Brendan merely grunted in response as Roselia and Machoke emerged from their Pokéballs in a pair of flashes.

"Roselia, move in and use Magical Leaf!" Drew ordered from the stage. Machoke tried to push the multicoloured leaves back with a Brick Break, but as Roselia had moved in close to his opponent, his attack was too powerful. The Superpower Pokémon was sent careening back, though it got up quickly and prepared to resume the fight.

As the battle unfolded, Brendan's attitude changed from derisive to shocked. Drew's battle style, he noticed, was somewhat less elegant than his appeal style, even having an edge of brutality to it. From the looks of it, May's rival gave his opponents no quarter and didn't hesitate to display his Pokémon's full power even against a much weaker Pokémon. It took about three minutes for the battle to end, and unsurprisingly, Roselia won by a huge point margin after knocking out Machoke. Drew's victory, even more predictably, was followed by a round of wild applause.

Ten minutes later, the remaining battles of the first round were over. In the wings, May gulped after taking a quick glance at the screen. _It's my battle, then Drew's…and then, if I make it to the final round…it'll be me and him again._ She forced herself to concentrate as Christina called her name for the second round. More cheering accompanied her walk on stage, and she couldn't resist glancing around to see where Brendan and Todd were sitting in the audience. She waved at the boys when she found them, breaking into a huge grin. _Thanks, guys,_ she thought as she stepped into the Trainer's box on her side of the battlefield.

Her next opponent was a man in a tuxedo with a Meowth who wore a pair of sunglasses. Both of them were quite calm. The Meowth in particular was almost smug, lazily scratching its side with a hind paw. When it came down to battle, though, it didn't stand a chance against Eevee. The long-eared mammal landed blow after blow on her feline opponent, who put up a decent struggle but didn't manage to land more than a few attacks that did little damage anyway. The battle ended when Eevee used Meowth's body to propel herself into the air, gracefully leaping over Meowth's Scratch attack and then ramming into the other Pokémon with a powerful Tackle.

"And that's all she wrote!" said Christina as the judges declared Meowth unfit to battle. She gestured at the combatants. "Unfortunately for Ronald, today the clothes don't make the man, which means that May will be moving on to the final round!"

May was dazed as she shook the gentleman's hand and went backstage, barely noticing that Drew's match was up next. She petted Eevee's fur gently. The little mammal, she saw, was breathing as hard as she was.

"You're getting tired, aren't you?" she said softly.

"Vee!" her Pokémon answered enthusiastically. _Tired but excited,_ May thought with a smile.

"Just hang in there. One more round…" Her voice trailed off as she raised her head to watch Drew's battle. As she'd predicted, her rival had an easy second round battle. Roselia had the clear advantage, as the first round hadn't tired him out as much as had the opponent's Sneasel. Sneasel put up a good fight, lasting three minutes before a few well-placed Magical Leaf attacks knocked it out.

"And Drew wins!" May squeezed Eevee closer to her as Christina announced the end of the second round, her voice barely audible over the sound of cheering fans. "This means that Drew will be facing May in what will undoubtedly be an electrifying final round!"

_This is it,_ May thought, a firm expression on her face. The audience, meanwhile had gone quiet, Brendan and Todd staring intently at the stage as they waited for the battle to begin.

"May, will you please make your way onto the stage?" Christina said. But May was already on her way, appearing from the wings before the last word left the announcer's lips. She could feel that all eyes were on her now as she climbed the steps and took her position in her Trainer's box. Trying to keep herself from shaking, her eyes met Drew's, on the opposite side of the field. After all this time, they were facing one another again.

"May!" she heard Brendan call out from the audience. "You can do it!"

"Lookin' good, May!" Todd added. She turned to the audience briefly and smiled, being greeted by an array of flashes from numerous cameras.

"Coordinators, get set!" said Christina. Eevee and Roselia each took a step forward. "Ready…go!"

"Let's go, Roselia!" Drew shouted, pointing at May.

"It's time, Eevee!" May ordered. "Quick Attack!"

Both Pokémon ran toward the centre of the stage, Eevee darting left and right as she built up speed.

"Stop it in its tracks with Poison Sting!" Drew ordered. Roselia obeyed, thrusting his flowery hands out in front of him and firing a ray of thin glowing needles at Eevee.

"Use Quick Attack again to dodge!" said May. As the needles approached, Eevee deftly sidestepped. A hint of red appeared on the edge of Drew's metre, as Roselia had failed to hit his opponent. May smiled, clenching her fist. "Keep going and get ready to strike!"

"Start moving too, Roselia!" said Drew, unconcerned. With a sudden burst of speed, Roselia moved to counter Eevee's Quick Attack, firing short bursts of needles. Eevee was finding it more difficult to dodge, her attack temporarily halted.

"They're really going at it, folks!" said Christina. "But for each miss, Drew's points go down! How can he turn this around?"

Brendan frowned. "Roselia's wearing down Eevee bit by bit," he commented. "Although that's probably not even his strategy."

Todd gave his friend a puzzled look. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Just then, Roselia's Poison Sting finally hit Eevee dead on. Eevee was knocked back, and May winced as she saw her points go down accordingly.

"Solar Beam!" Drew ordered. May's jaw dropped slightly. _Such a powerful attack already?_

"Looks like he wants to finish this quickly," Brendan commented. He clasped his hands together and put them in front of his face. Todd merely widened his eyes.

"Drew's taking no chances today!" said Christina as Roselia's petals began to glow. "He's going all out right from the start!"

May gritted her teeth. _We need something bigger than Quick Attack. Once that Solar Beam is ready…_ "Eevee!" she called to her Pokémon, who was still kneeling after being hit by Poison Sting. "Get a Shadow Ball ready, and make it a big one!" Eevee gave her trainer a quick look and nod, then gathered an orb of dark energy in front of her mouth. May knew it took a lot of focus to keep the Shadow Ball there before firing it, and made a mental note to congratulate Eevee once the battle was over, no matter what the outcome was.

With a blast of light that incinerated the air around it, Roselia let loose his Solar Beam. In that same instant, Eevee released the swollen purple mass that was her Shadow Ball.

_Will it be enough, though?_ May thought. "More Shadow Balls!" she said hastily. "Like in our appeal!" Eevee did as she was told, firing much smaller bursts of dark energy to augment her larger one. The two attacks collided and neutralized each other almost instantaneously, creating a brilliant display of light and shadow.

The audience was silent. "Oh, wow," said Christina. "What a stunning performance! Though it looks like that clash was detrimental to both Pokémon!"

Her heart sinking, May noticed that Christina was right. Eevee was breathing heavily, looking like she might collapse at any moment. At the same time, Roselia was looking close to fainting as well.

"All that dodging earlier," Brendan muttered, his voice muffled as he spoke into his hands. He turned to Todd, speaking clearly: "And now those Shadow Balls. They really pushed Eevee, and it doesn't help that she's such a small Pokémon. 'Course, it was the only option May had."

May felt some of the smugness disappear from Drew as his points decreased significantly. While hers were still relatively high, he was left with about half of the metre yellow. "Drew made a hasty decision with that Solar Beam," said Christina, "and it may very well cost him that Ribbon if he doesn't pick things up."

"Pick things up I will," Drew murmured, May reading the words on his lips. "Roselia, use Sweet Scent!" Roselia stood up straight and crinkled his petals, releasing a thick pink cloud of perfume. Eevee almost immediately relaxed, her limbs becoming heavy.

Brendan held a hand to his nose. "I hate that move," he grumbled nasally. "It makes me drowsy."

Todd nudged him. "Better stay awake, man," he said. "Looks like they're about to get serious."

"Don't let it get to you, Eevee!" said May. "Shake it off!"

"Petal Dance!" Drew commanded, a look of triumph on his face. Roselia's hands twitched again, and he fired a flurry of pink and blue petals at his opponent.

"Jump up and dodge!" May said, reacting without thinking. As Eevee exerted all her strength to jump in the air and dodge the razor sharp petals, May regretted her decision. _Damn, _she cursed as the petals drifted harmlessly below Eevee. _I've left Eevee wide open!_

"May, what are you doing?" Brendan hissed.

Drew snickered. "Poison Sting," he said calmly. Roselia raised his leafy head, took aim at the airborne Eevee, and fired his needles.

_Only one thing to do now!_ May thought in that instant. "Shadow Ball!" she cried.

"Again?" Brendan sighed. "How can she−"

But Eevee's Shadow Ball was small, and she fired it almost immediately after powering up. Blocking the Poison Sting, the Evolution Pokémon dropped back down to the ground, definitely worse for wear. Both May and Drew lost points, though Drew once again bore the worst of it. May's metre was still half-yellow, but Drew was certainly in his last third.

"Alright, then," he said, the familiar haughty tone back in his voice. "Magical Leaf!"

Drew recovered so quickly that May barely had time to react. "Move in and end this with Tackle!" she cried.

Roselia began his attack first. Eevee dashed toward the Thorn Pokémon, doing what she could to dodge the multicoloured leaves headed its way. But Magical Leaf was an unavoidable attack, and Eevee squealed in pain once she was hit a moment later.

"Eevee, stop−" May started. "Wha…?"

Despite suffering damage, Eevee was still going strong, charging straight into Magical Leaf. Drew took a step back, surprise etched onto his face.

"How can it do that?" he said quietly. It appeared that everyone in the audience shared his sentiments.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you've gotta give Eevee credit," said Christina. "Barrelling through an unavoidable attack like that takes a lot of courage. Unfortunately, courage alone won't stop those points from dropping." She indicated May's meter, from which the yellow was disappearing fast.

"Go get 'em, Eevee!" shouted Brendan. "Now _that's _a real battle!" Meanwhile, Todd was too excited to even speak, his fingers all over his photographic equipment.

Drew took a deep breath. "Roselia, intensify the attack!" he ordered. But it was too late now. With a resounding thud, Eevee slammed into Roselia, knocking him back. The Thorn Pokémon landed at Drew's feet, sprawled on the stage floor and covered in cuts and bruises. He tried to get up, wincing as he did so. Eevee wasn't much better off, standing as she was with one of her forelegs bent. Both Coordinators looked at their Pokémon intensely, as though willing them to keep going.

Just then, the buzzer sounded. Their five minutes were up. A quick glance at the screen showed May that her points and Drew's were almost exactly the same.

The audience was breathless, and it was Christina who broke the silence. "It's over!" she announced. "As it looks, it's too close to call! Hang on, while our judges determine a winner!" There were a few seconds of silence, and May forced her teeth to stop chattering from the tension. _Did I win? Did I win?_ Brendan, Todd, and the rest of the audience looked on with anticipation.

Then, Contesta spoke. "The number of points remaining is as follows," he said, his voice professional. "May has thirteen. Drew has nineteen. Therefore, the winner of today's Contest is Drew from LaRousse City!"

The screen changed to show a larger photo of Drew on one side and a magnified picture of the Coastline Ribbon on the other. The crowd, sans Brendan and Drew, erupted into cheers, applause, and whistling. Drew basked in the adoration as his name was chanted repeatedly.

May stood there, dumbfounded. _I…I lost. To Drew. Again. And by only six points._ She didn't know by what mechanism she made her way backstage. Her legs felt like they were made of lead. Her brain was numb.

"May," Brendan whispered, looking on at her wooden movements. He could only imagine how she felt as Christina congratulated Drew, giving the green-haired boy the ribbon. "This really sucks."

"I know," Todd agreed, packing his equipment gloomily. "We worked so hard for today, too."

Brendan sighed. "Come on, let's go talk to her."

* * *

**After a seven-month hiatus, I've finally updated again. Lots of things (lots and lots of things, as Ruby from Rosario + Vampire would say) have happened during this time, but I've come through them stronger and more confident than ever before. That confidence, naturally, extends to my abilities as a writer. That said, I won't guarantee that I can stick to a schedule, but I will try to update as often as possible. School and life will inevitably get in the way, and I must navigate around them as best as I can. As I state on my profile, expect no updates in the month of November, as all my energies will be directed toward writing my novel for NaNoWriMo.**

**Above all, I'd like to thank Six String Bard and Mistical Ninja for their invaluable help as beta readers. It's thanks to them that IAWNW maintains what quality it does. Thanks also go to the members of Rule of Cool and This Is Not a Forum, who have supported me through my ups and downs and who make this entire endeavour worthwhile.  
**


	7. In With the Tide

**Chapter 7: In With the Tide**

May practically tore off her costume in the changing room and hurriedly put on her everyday clothes. "Oh, Eevee," she said softly, picking up her Pokémon, which had climbed onto a stool. The furry Pokémon gazed up at her with liquid eyes, exhausted from her battle, but otherwise in good shape. May wanted to get out of that Contest Hall as soon as possible without running into Drew. _How could we lose to him again? We practiced so hard. But it looks like he wasn't just sitting around either after leaving Kanto._ Pushing back tears, she recalled her very first Contest. Her first loss to Drew. It was a painfully similar experience to today's loss.

Recalling Eevee into her Pokéball, May rushed outside the doors and took a deep breath of fresh air. She walked along the side of the building and found a spot shaded by a cluster of trees. Leaning with her back to the wall, she allowed herself to slide down, bowing her head. She sat in the shade for what seemed like an eternity, gathering her thoughts and trying unsuccessfully to reassure herself.

"May."

She didn't register the voice that had spoken her name, remaining motionless.

_"May."_ More emphatic, and this time it was accompanied by a soft touch on her arm. She looked up, and couldn't help but smile as she saw Brendan's face. Todd stood next to him.

"Are you alright, May?" the photographer asked.

"Y-yeah," she answered weakly, lifting herself off the grass. "Guess I'm just a little disappointed is all."

"You did great!" said Brendan. "I mean it! That was so cool, Eevee going through the Shadow Balls like that. And you had Drew on the ropes!"

"I did…" May sniffed. "And then I blew it!"

Brendan and Todd were about to respond when they heard footsteps crunching on the grass behind them. The group turned to see Drew walking over, a serious expression on his face. He was still wearing the suit he donned for the Contest. Brendan felt his irritation returning.

"Drew!" said May. In her head, she sighed. _Did he have to come looking for me?_

Drew rolled his eyes. "You're surprised to see me _again?"_ he said. "Really, May, you should try to anticipate your opponent a bit more."

May licked her lips tentatively. "I…" her voice trailed off.

"You didn't 'blow it'," Drew continued. "You just got caught up in the heat of the moment and made hasty decisions." He reached into the lapel of his jacket and pulled out a red rose, handing it to May. "For Eevee."

Brendan's eyes narrowed. "Wha…" he started, but May and Drew weren't paying attention to him.

"Uh…th-thanks," May mumbled, accepting the rose. _She _took _it! _Brendan clenched his fists so hard, they'd turned white. _But why? He just humiliated her!_

"That said, Eevee was too reckless today!" Drew chastised. "You shouldn't have let it charge into an attack head-on like that. You could've won back there."

May felt tears forming in her eyes and blinked them away. "I know," she said after a sigh. "I guess…I just wasn't thinking."

"Don't ever let your guard down in a Contest," Drew responded in a somewhat kinder voice. "With your experience, May, you should know that by now."

He turned and made to walk away, but found Brendan blocking his path. The Hoenn boy had his arms folded across his chest. Drew's only response was to raise a questioning eyebrow.

_No, Brendan! _Todd thought. _Don't go making things worse!_

"Hey, buddy, you want to cut her some slack?" Brendan said. Todd winced at his friend's hostile tone, while May looked on in curiosity, wondering what had gotten her fellow Hoenner so riled up.

_Uh-oh, _Todd thought. _This could get messy. I don't know what May and Drew's relationship is, but Brendan clearly likes her, so he won't let Drew off that easily, even if Drew meant well._

But Drew's face was impassive as he coolly said, "Have you ever been in a Contest?"

"No," Brendan admitted. "But what does that−"

"Then you wouldn't know that Contests add a completely different dimension to battling." Drew ignored the twitch in Brendan's eyes as he continued: "Coordinators must remain focused on the task at hand and ensure that their Pokémon appear graceful while doing so."

Brendan growled. "I know _that_ much!" he shouted. "I was watching all the time during today's Contest, and May and I trained before that, so don't tell me I don't know how it works!"

Drew smiled arrogantly, once again appearing to ignore the other boy. "May has to go through twice the pressure you do as a Trainer. She knows that the reward of winning a Contest is also double. Despite what you think, I'm only helping her out."

"She doesn't need that kind of help!" Brendan retorted. "She did her best out there! It's not enough that you won, but you have to gloat about it, too?"

Drew looked Brendan in the eye, his grin dropping. When he spoke again, his voice was firm, almost menacing. "Don't assume things," he said. "As fellow Coordinators, May and I understand each other." He paused for a moment before saying, "We're done here." With that, the Coordinator slid aside Brendan and took off, the latter left speechless. To add insult to injury, Roselia trilled "Rrrrroselia" as he followed his Trainer.

The three of them stood silently as Drew walked out of sight. "Brendan," said May once he was gone. "You don't need to be so upset."

"The hell I don't," Brendan muttered. He didn't even look at her. "I'm going to the Gym." Without warning, he turned around and ran.

"Brendan!" Todd called out in reaction to his friend's outburst. "Oh, man!"

"Wait!" May cried. "Brendan, what's gotten into you?" But the hooded boy kept running, oblivious to both of them. May groaned in exasperation. "Todd, come on, we're going after him."

"Oh great, _running," _Todd groaned. "Can't we at least go back to the Centre and drop off my equipment?"

"No time!" May answered. "We can't let Brendan challenge the Gym like this." She grabbed Todd's hand and started running. "Let's go!"

Todd yelped as May dragged him, breaking into a run to restore his balance. _How do I get caught up in these things?_

* * *

It took half an hour for Brendan to appear in May and Todd's sight again. They'd chased after him all the way from the Contest Hall, but he was a fast runner and had quickly widened the distance between himself and his pursuers. May and Todd had squeezed and sometimes shoved their way through the crowded streets of Coastline's most touristy district, and May swore that when she caught up to Brendan, he'd pay dearly for the suffering she was enduring because of him. By the time they'd reached the outskirts of the city, they were both panting hard, slowing their run to a walk. As they came to the top of a grassy hill, May sighed in relief as she saw Brendan walking along a path that hugged the coastline, about a hundred metres from where they were now.

Todd, wheezing with exhaustion, wiped the sweat from his forehead as he joined May at the top of the hill. "My...equipment," he rasped in between breaths. "Hehe..." He smiled weakly, patting his handbag and reassuring himself that nothing inside had broken from being bumped around.

"Quick, let's follow him before he runs off again!" said May, drawing a groan from Todd. But he continued walking, or rather jogging, without further protest.

"Brendan!" May yelled as soon as she and Todd were within earshot. "Brendan, wait!" The hooded boy stopped and turned as his friends approached. As she marched up to him, May fixated Brendan with a glare. "What's gotten into you?" she demanded.

"_He_ did," Brendan growled, matching May's glare with one of his own. "How do you put up with that loser?"

May's expression softened as she took a few breaths. "That's just the way Drew is," she answered in a calmer tone of voice.

Brendan gaped at her. "Look at how he humiliates you!" he said. "First with that stupid little _rose_ of his" –he rolled his eyes at the word 'rose'– "and then that _lecture_. As if I don't know what a freakin' _Contest_ is..."

"I know he's abrupt," May admitted, trying to calm him down, "but he just takes some getting used to. Don't let it get to you."

"It-it's not about me," Brendan responded, shuffling his feet as he avoided her gaze. "I don't like the way he treats you."

May smiled at him. "He doesn't mean any harm, Brendan. He's just concerned about me, really." She stole a glance at Todd, who was still catching his breath.

Brendan looked her in the eyes, his tone firm as he replied, "Todd and I are, too."

"He...he's right," Todd agreed. "Sure, we only met a week ago, but we're all friends."

"I know that," May answered, more hurriedly than she intended. Her breath suddenly caught in her throat, and it wasn't because of the running. "Look, let's just forget about this. What's done is done. If I remember, you had a Gym battle you were all excited about, Brendan."

Brendan's mouth creased into a grin, his mood instantly improving. "Sure," he said. "Let's do that. Now, what do you guys say we go to the Gym?"

"As long as we walk," said Todd, his breathing back at a normal pace. "I don't think I can run any more today."

Brendan made a mock disappointed face. "Sure, let's _walk,"_ he drawled. But he acquiesced, and the three of them continued on their way.

The path Brendan had been following was merely a dirt trail that separated the grassy hills and fields of the outskirts of Coastline City from the sandy beach behind them. The latter was dotted with tourists and locals alike, who were swimming, building sand castles, or playing beach volleyball. There were about as many Pokémon as there were humans, mostly ones like Goldeen or Magikarp that needed a body of water to swim in, and who now accompanied their Trainers on a day of fun. More than once, May caught Brendan and Todd sneaking glances at some of the girls on the beach, their heads craning to get a better look. May giggled softly to herself: she was doing the same thing, her eyes flitting to some of the attractive young men. _Can't hold it against those two. We're all just human in the end._

To get to the beach, people would either walk along the dirt path or use the nearby highway if they were driving. The path, May noticed as her eyes scanned the surroundings, joined up with the highway shortly before it disappeared into a tunnel carved out of the side of a cliff face which jutted into the ocean. It was this tunnel they were headed for now, as they had to pass through it to get to the Coastline Gym.

"_So_ pumped to get my first badge!" Brendan said excitedly as they passed the tunnel's threshold. The stark sunlight outside faded, replaced by an orange glow cast by long fluorescent bulbs ahead. "It's a Water-type Gym, so Lear and I are gonna rock it," Brendan continued, his voice echoing in the cavernous expanse. May and Todd noticed that he was picking up the pace again, and they struggled to keep up. _A guy and I are running after another guy who's hot-headed and really wants a badge,_ May thought to herself as Brendan, not surprisingly, broke into a run again. _Why is this scene so familiar?_ Her legs burned as she jogged to keep Brendan in her sights, and she fervently wished she was riding in one of the vehicles that occasionally whizzed by.

The tunnel was mercifully short, and they soon found themselves on the other side of the gorge. It was far less crowded here. The only other people around were a group of young men and women wearing matching turquoise bathing suits, who appeared to be doing joint exercises or martial arts on a spotless white beach.

"Must be the Gym's trainees," Todd said, inclining his head in their direction. May's gaze slowly moved along the coastline and up a nearby promontory with a stark white building about halfway up.

"That must be the Gym right there," she said. "Hey, Brendan!"

"Way ahead of you!" Brendan called back from the base of the hill, his sneakers kicking up clouds of dust as he continued his run. He turned and waved. "Hurry up, Slowpokes!"

"Go ahead! We'll catch up with you!" _Teenage boy Trainers,_ she thought as she waved back and then giggled to herself. _Nothing ever stops them._

May and Todd approached the promontory, the clear waters on the other side coming into view. That wasn't all, though: situated on top of the sea itself was an enormous square stadium, adorned with impressive spotlights on each of its four sides and connected to the mainland by means of a dark gray concrete bridge.

"Wonder what that is," May mused out loud as she and Todd fell into step with Brendan.

"That's the old Gym," said Brendan with a casual wave of his arm. "Apparently, they started out as an elite swimming club which put on synchronized swimming shows once in a while. One of the club members was a decent battler, so he held unofficial Gym Challenges. More and more people started coming here, so they decided to sell the place to the Pokémon League and make it official."

"Well, someone's done their research." Walking past the parking lot, they started the gruelling climb uphill. At least, it was gruelling for May and Todd.

Brendan shrugged. "Just like to keep on top of things," he said. Glancing back at his friends, he chuckled and shook his head. They were practically wheezing now. "You guys really need more exercise. You should work out in the mornings, like I do. I'll run you through me and Julian's schedule."

Threatening growls from May and Todd shut him up. They marched up the hill in silence, taking the light gray cobblestone path that lead to the Gym's entrance. All of them, even Brendan, were eager to get inside for some shade and possibly air conditioning. It had turned into a scorching day: waves of heat emanated from the ground, the bright midday sun beating down on them mercilessly.

"Whew!" said May as they entered through the automatic glass doors. "I never thought it could get so hot outside of Hoenn." She turned to glance at Brendan, but he'd already marched across the marble floor and made his way to the receptionist's counter. Todd, meanwhile, patted the bag holding his equipment, relieved that it had survived the whole ordeal intact.

"This way, guys," Brendan said after he'd finished talking to the receptionist. He motioned for them to follow him.

The stadium where Brendan would be battling in was just down a hall behind the counter. He'd been excited earlier, but now, he was positively giddy. As such, only May and Todd fully appreciated the Gym's architecture. They couldn't help but be awestruck by the earthy red tiles and pearly white marble walls. Each side of the hall was modestly lined with columns with designs painted in a deep sea blue. In between them were blue-tinted light fixtures in a variety of seashell shapes, giving off a soothing glow. They passed a few doors along the way, made of dark wood and flanked by more columns. The building reminded May of some Contest Halls she'd been in.

The most stunning feature of all, though, turned out to be the stadium itself. As they entered the enormous space, even Brendan was momentarily left speechless. High walls gently sloped inward to create a domelike shape. A glass ceiling allowed the room to be lit by natural light, accenting its already magnificent design. A large circular pool bordered by intricate mosaics lay in the centre, the sunlight hitting the water at just the right angle so that the surface glittered. Tall marble rows of seats encircled the pool in the shape of an amphitheatre, the slope of the stadium's walls ensuring that they'd always be in the shade.

"Holy…" Brendan was clearly impressed. "So this is where I'll be battling today."

He was answered by a chuckle. "That's right. Impressive, no?"

The three of them turned to face the man who had spoken, so absorbed in their surroundings that they hadn't noticed him arriving. He didn't appear to be much older than twenty, a welcoming smile on his youthful face. Well above average height, he had a tan, lean physique that suggested he was a swimmer. A head of thick, chestnut brown hair brushed his powerful shoulders, matching his brown eyes. He dressed casually, wearing a plain white shirt over blue jeans and leather sandals.

"Hey," said Brendan, returning the smile. "Are you the Gym Leader?"

"That's me," the man confirmed with a slight nod. "I'm Dorian. And you must be my next challenger."

"Nice to meet you, Dorian! I'm Brendan." The two shook hands, and Dorian continued:

"As you can probably tell, Brendan, the Coastline Gym specializes in Water types." He motioned toward the pool with his arm to emphasize his point. "Before we begin our battle, I must ask if you have any Water Pokémon with you."

Brendan nodded. "Sure do! My Swampert's the best swimmer there is."

Dorian laughed as his challenger and he approached the pool. "As long as it's not your only Pokémon that can battle on a water field."

"You'll see," was all Brendan said in response.

The two combatants made their way to opposite sides of the pool. After wishing their friend luck, May and Todd sat in the front row of seats.

"You seem better," Todd said to May as Dorian made a call on his cell phone. "If you don't mind me saying so."

May shrugged. "It's one loss. What can I do about it, hm? Just learn from it and be ready for the next Contest."

"Where is the next one, anyway?" Todd asked.

"Cherrygrove City," May answered as one of the young men she'd seen on the beach entered through a side door; she reasoned that the group on the beach was affiliated with the Gym after all. "It's in a little more than a week from now."

"We better get practicing, then!" Todd said with a laugh. Noticing May's wan smile, he continued: "Your moves and combos are great, May. I mean it."

May made a non-committal sound and stared blankly at the battlefield, where the judge was calling out the rules. It would be a typical three-on-three battle, with only the challenger allowed to make substitutions.

Todd glanced at her through his peripheral vision. "So don't worry."

"It's not about me," said May with a quick glance at Todd before returning her attention to the battlefield. "I just wonder why Brendan got so angry with Drew earlier."

"Hmm." Todd suppressed a knowing smile. "As you said, Drew does tend to get on people's nerves."

"Yeah, but still. Brendan seemed especially irritated by him."

Todd didn't answer. He really didn't want to have what he was sure would be a long, complicated conversation right now. They'd talk later, he reasoned, preferably at a time when Brendan wasn't around.

But he was saved from an awkward situation when Dorian called out his first Pokémon, a small but intimidating Qwilfish.

"Look, the battle's starting!" said May excitedly.

"Yeah," said Todd, quickly taking out his camera. "Let's see what Brendan's made of."

* * *

Brendan had hardly noticed May and Todd chatting with each other in the stands. The familiar rush of adrenaline was already coursing through his veins, bringing back memories of Gym and Frontier battles past. He could hardly contain his excitement as the judge explained the rules of the battle, and when the judge indicated that they could release their Pokémon, he shouted, "Yeah! Let's do this!"

Dorian laughed at Brendan's outburst. "Alright, then." He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt. "Since you're so eager to get started…Qwilfish, go!" He tossed the Pokéball into the pool in front of him, the flash subsiding to reveal a round fishlike Pokémon covered in thick spines. The top of its body was dark blue, its bottom half a creamy yellow. It had wide, fierce eyes with beady black pupils, its mouth bordered by a pair of small, fleshy pink lips. A flat, pear-shaped tail jutted out of its back.

Brendan's first act was to scan the Pokémon with his Pokédex. "Qwilfish, the Balloon Pokémon," said the metallic voice. "Though its shape makes it a mediocre swimmer, it defends itself with the sharp spines that cover its body. In order to fire its spines into an enemy, it must first ingest several gallons of water." Brendan chuckled. _Well, thanks, Dexter,_ he thought._ You just told me exactly what I need to do._

He tossed a Pokéball out into the pool. "Let's go, Ledyba!" The Five Star Pokémon let out a _"Bibii!"_ as she was released.

"A Pokémon that can fly," Dorian said musingly. "I see what you're doing, Brendan. Qwilfish, start off with Poison Sting!"

"Dodge!" Brendan ordered immediately. Qwilfish expanded its form momentarily before firing a round of poison-tipped barbs at Ledyba. But the agile Bug-type dodged easily, and Brendan, his heart pounding, went on the offensive.

"Move in and use Comet Punch!" he ordered. Ledyba reacted instantly, looping mid-air and making a beeline for her opponent.

But Dorian was cool. "Dive, Qwilfish," he said confidently. Ledyba found herself striking at empty space where Qwilfish had been floating just a moment earlier. The Balloon Pokémon remained underwater, watching as Ledyba flew by.

"I thought he'd do that," Brendan muttered to himself. "Which is why we'll use that new move next. Ledyba, turn around and come back with Mach Punch when I tell you to!"

_"Bibi!"_ Ledyba replied affirmatively, turning with the curve of the pool and hovering in front of Brendan once more. On the other side of the pool, Qwilfish surfaced with a small splash.

It was the opportunity Brendan had been waiting for. "Now!" he ordered, and Ledyba sprung into action, her topmost right fist creating a glowing blur as she raced toward Qwilfish. Before the other Pokémon could react, the force of Ledyba's Mach Punch had thrown it across the pool, and it barrelled through the air.

"Water Gun!" Dorian called out. As Qwilfish was about to hit the tiles bordering the pool, it fired a powerful stream of water that hit the solid rim, stopping its fall and altering its position so that it fell into the pool instead. _That's some aim it's got,_ thought Brendan. _Better than it had with Poison Sting, at any rate. Guess that's part of its defence, too._

Another opportunity had presented itself, though. "Mach Punch once more!" said Brendan. "Before it can rebound!"

Dorian folded his lean arms across his chest while Ledyba came back to strike again. This time, however, the Bug Pokémon's assault was unsuccessful: of its own accord, Qwilfish dove underwater again. "No!" Brendan shouted as Ledyba did a cannonball into the water. It wasn't just because Ledyba had missed.

Now, it was in the water, in Qwilfish's domain.

Already, Qwilfish had been storing water in its body, and at Dorian's command, it struck. "Rollout," said the Coastline Gym Leader. With surprising agility, the Balloon Pokémon rolled on the surface of the water, hitting Ledyba hard as she rose up for air. She bounced a few paces, like a stone skipping on water, before coming to rest on Brendan's side of the pool.

"You gotta fly, Ledyba!" Brendan said worriedly as Ledyba thrashed about. With a wary eye, he noticed the other Pokémon's bulbous form expanding again. "Qwilfish can't get you as long as you're in the air! Come on, you can do it!"

"Pin Missile!" Dorian ordered. With a reedy _"Fiiiish,"_ Qwilfish fired a volley of glowing sharp spines in all directions, some of them reaching as far as the pool's edge on Brendan's side. Brendan held his breath, anticipating that it was surely over for Ledyba now.

To everyone's surprise, though, once Qwilfish's attack had stopped, Ledyba was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd it go?" May wondered out loud, leaning forward in her seat. Todd appeared to have the same question, as did Dorian and his judge. The only one who wasn't surprised – who was, in fact, grinning from ear to ear – was Brendan. Ledyba suddenly surfaced a moment later, spreading her wings and vibrating them as she lifted herself into the air. She looked tired, but could certainly keep going. Brendan laughed with not a little relief as Ledyba shook herself and sprayed water droplets all over him.

"So your Ledyba can dive, too," said Dorian, unfolding his arms. "Not a strategy Trainers use very often with Bug-types."

"What can I say?" Brendan responded. "Ledyba's a tough one."

"I can see that." Dorian's brow furrowed. "Now, let's finish this. Qwilfish, another Pin Missile!" Qwilfish expanded once more, then fired another round of Pin Missile. It didn't last as long as the previous one, as Qwilfish hadn't stored as much water as before, but the attack was more accurate. In her weakened condition, it was becoming more and more difficult for Ledyba to dodge, and Brendan noticed this. They were going to have to act, and quickly.

_Mach Punch won't do much damage despite its speed,_ thought Brendan. _It's a Fighting-type move, and Qwilfish is part Poison. _Meanwhile, Qwilfish's attack had stopped. Brendan gave the order fro Ledyba to move in, albeit carefully, so they could gauge the opponent's next move.

"Water Gun!" Dorian ordered. Ledyba looped midair just in time to dodge the blast of icy water Qwilfish spat her way. "Keep at it!"

"Keep dodging, Ledyba!" said Brendan. _He starts by keeping Ledyba away with Water Gun. I can see that much…_ Ledyba spun a couple more times, then dodged in a zigzag pattern. Brendan gritted his teeth. With Qwilfish's deadly accuracy with Water Gun, the only thing keeping Ledyba in the air was her speed. The Bug-type was slowly retreating so as to get out of Water Gun's range. _She can't take another attack head on…wait!_

From the other side of the field, Dorian called: "Dive and swim toward Ledyba!" Ledyba, exhausted from dodging, hovered in one spot while Qwilfish swam underwater, using its tail to propel it forward. But an idea had formed in Brendan's mind, and now would be the perfect time to execute it.

"Stay still until I tell you to move!" said Brendan, keeping an eye on Qwilfish. As he suspected, the Balloon Pokémon was absorbing water again. Lots of it. Qwilfish had to be doubling in size, he noticed with a gulp. _Dorian starts off by having Qwilfish use Water Gun not just to keep Ledyba at bay, but to tire her out with dodging. Then, he stops, thinking we'll use the opportunity to move in, and has Qwilfish attack. Right when we think it's at its most vulnerable…_

"Pin Missile!" Dorian ordered as soon as Qwilfish was right underneath Ledyba.

He'd done just what Brendan had thought. As the most powerful volley of Pin Missile yet erupted from underwater, Brendan yelled, "Comet Punch!"

Ledyba instinctively understood. They'd practiced this technique all the time from almost the moment he'd caught her. All six of her fists glowing, she shattered every spine headed her way with Comet Punch. The Five Star Pokémon was a blur of red, black, and white as she countered the Pin Missile, which continued to fire as Qwilfish's body slowly shrank back to normal.

"Ah!" May exclaimed. "Ledyba's deflecting the Pin Missile! That's amazing!"

"Yeah," Todd agreed, snapping a few photos. "Especially considering Brendan just caught Ledyba last week."

Dorian stared in shock as Ledyba remained airborne in the face of Qwilfish's Pin Missile, and as the attack subsided, Brendan met his gaze with a cheery grin.

"Now, Ledyba!" said the Hoenn Trainer. "Mach Punch!"

"Dodge!" But Dorian's call was in vain. Qwilfish was still recovering from its attack and couldn't dodge in time. Ledyba swooped in from a low angle, diving underwater headfirst and punching Qwilfish in the belly. The Balloon Pokémon was hurled out of the water, Ledyba right behind it.

"The water may be Qwilfish's territory," said Brendan. "But the air is Ledyba's! One last Comet Punch!" Ledyba's fists glowed again, and she dealt Qwilfish a series of light but rapid blows against which the Balloon Pokémon was helpless. Once she was done, she let Qwilfish fall. Qwilfish landed in the water with a splash, sinking before it came up again and floated motionlessly.

The outcome was clear, the judge confirming it. Holding up a green flag, he stated, "Qwilfish is unable to battle! Ledyba is the winner!"

"We did it, Ledyba!" Brendan cheered as Dorian recalled Qwilfish with a word of thanks. The Five Star Pokémon flew over to him and he hugged her tightly, lauding her performance in the battle. "Now you get some rest, okay? I'll get Nurse Joy to see you once we're out of here." With that, he recalled his Pokémon and faced Dorian.

"Well done, Brendan," said the Gym Leader, his right hand going to the side of his belt. "I didn't expect Ledyba to get through Qwilfish's defences that easily and then counterattack like that. But I have to say, don't think you've got this in the bag just yet."

"I don't expect I do," Brendan replied.

"Good." Dorian released his next Pokémon. "Lanturn, I choose you!"

Lanturn appeared with another flash, bobbing slightly on the water's surface. Brendan stared at it closely, remembering that he'd seen some of those Pokémon before along Hoenn's sea routes. It was slightly larger than Qwilfish, and mostly light blue in colour. Rounded fins on its side served as arms, a wide tail that turned yellow at the bottom protruding from its back. Large amber eyes were set in a yellow face. Finally, a large antenna jutted out of its head and split into two near the top, a yellow bulb at the end of each section. Brendan knew that the bulbs produced copious amounts of electricity.

And that would be the biggest problem of all, he knew, a serious expression setting onto his features. Unlike in the battle against Qwilfish, there would be no narrow escape via diving. Even touching the water wasn't an option when the tiniest spark from Lanturn's bulbs would electrify the entire pool instantly.

But that didn't mean they couldn't do it. Taking a deep breath, Brendan let it out in a whoosh and released a Pokémon from its ball. "Let's do this, Chimecho!" he said. The streamer-like Pokémon appeared in a flash, levitating a metre or so above the water.

"Start with Extrasensory!" Brendan ordered, deciding to go on the offensive from the start this time. The sooner they took out Lanturn, the better. Chimecho's eyes glowed light blue as she attempted to harness the flow of energy in her opponent. If she could do that, she would be able to inflict damage on Lanturn by merely willing it. As opposed to Psychic, it was a weaker, but much faster technique.

"Dive!" The word barely left Dorian's lips as Lanturn dove underwater. The sudden movement disrupted Chimecho's Extrasensory and caused her to lose her focus.

"It's that pool," Brendan muttered. "As long as Dorian's Pokémon can go underwater, they'll be able to stay safe. I don't know if Chimecho can use Extrasensory to get Lanturn while it's hiding like that."

"Frustrated?" said Dorian. "That is your biggest problem here, true. Fighting on a water field is quite different from fighting on land, as I'm sure you've realized. Especially if your opponent is using a Water Pokémon and you aren't."

Brendan smirked at the Gym Leader. "I'm from Hoenn, man. Half the battles my Pokémon fought were on water. It just takes a little creative thinking, that's all."

"If you say so. Lanturn, Shock Wave!"

Brendan bit his lower lip. Things were getting serious now. The bulbs on Lanturn's antennae glowed and crackled with electricity before firing jagged yellow beams in all directions. "Defend with Psychic!" Brendan ordered as the assault started.

_"Chime!"_ Chimecho sang as a blue aura enveloped her body. The aura spread into an energy field which deflected the oncoming electrical bolts, creating a massive shower of sparks that crackled and danced in the air. The entire battlefield was momentarily engulfed in electricity, and Brendan felt his hair stand on end. Taking his hood off for a moment and combing down his black hair with a hand, he watched as Chimecho successfully fended off the Shock Wave.

However, he'd instantly regretted his decision to order a Psychic attack. He knew it took a lot of energy, of which Chimecho didn't have many reserves in the first place. Moreover, using such an attack defensively, when it didn't even affect the opponent, felt like a colossal waste. He resolved that he was going to have to use Chimecho's moves more wisely from now on.

Again, an opportunity presented itself with Lanturn just finishing off a move. "Move in and use Extrasensory!" Brendan ordered. Chimecho acted immediately, floating toward the Light Pokémon and concentrating her psychic energy.

"Dodge and use Shock Wave again!" Dorian ordered. As Chimecho moved in close, Lanturn swam out of the way with a flick of its tail and shot another bolt of electricity from its antennae.

"Dodge it!" Brendan shouted. _Why'd I say that? Shock Wave is virtually unavoidable._ And yet, as he thought that, there was Chimecho, executing complex twirls and figures in order to dodge the electrical bolts as best as she could. A dive here, a climb there, a figure eight when the bolts were too close to each other…

But he knew his Pokémon couldn't keep this up forever. There was only one thing he could do. _Why didn't I think of that before?_ He shook his head. Now wasn't the time for mental admonishments. "Beat it back with Psywave!" he said, pointing a finger at Lanturn.

Now it was Dorian's turn to tense as Chimecho counterattacked. The Wind Chime Pokémon's bell glowed in rainbow hues, and from it, she released a multicoloured wave of energy that stopped the next Shock Wave in its tracks. The Psywave clearly proved to be the more powerful attack, cutting through the jagged electricity and striking Lanturn right on its antennae. The Light Pokémon squealed as it was hit, sinking underwater.

"Great job, Chimecho!" Brendan cheered, flashing a thumbs up at May and Todd, who shouted words of encouragement from the stands.

Dorian, however, didn't appear to lose any of his confidence. On the contrary, he was quite composed. "Lanturn!" he ordered. "Stay underwater and prepare a Dive attack!"

Brendan was taken aback. What could the Gym Leader be planning this time? He decided to let Chimecho sit still for the moment. When Lanturn came above water, then they'd strike. _Just like we did with Qwilfish._ "Move in," he said calmly as the dark shape of Lanturn underwater became clearer. "Slowly…slowly…" Chimecho inched forward, approaching her nemesis with caution.

"Extrasensory!" Brendan yelled as soon as Lanturn shot out of the water with a loud splash.

But what happened next was not what he expected. Not by a long shot. As soon as Chimecho's eyes began to glow and she reached out with her psychic powers, Lanturn covered itself in a veil of crackling electricity. In that same instant, a horizontal band of energy shot out from the Light Pokémon, overpowering the Extrasensory. The Wind Chime squealed in pain as several hundred volts coursed through her body.

"No, Chimecho!" Brendan shouted, looking on in horror. He raised his eyes to meet Dorian's, giving the Gym Leader a questioning look, as though to ask what that move was.

"Discharge," Dorian answered. "Lanturn gathers electricity in its body and then expels it outward. It's the perfect move both for offence and defence."

"I can see that…" Brendan said, his voice trailing off as he desperately tried to come up with a new strategy. Chimecho was barely able to keep herself afloat, her streamer dangerously close to the water's surface. He could order another Psychic attack, but with Chimecho's comparatively low level, how effective would it be in holding off another attack like Discharge? Furthermore, they had yet to force an opening through Lanturn's defences, and the Light Pokémon certainly wasn't going to give them a break.

He had only one choice.

"Chimecho, return," he said. Pokéball in hand, he recalled the Wind Chime Pokémon and unclipped another red-and-white sphere from his belt. "Let's do this, Lear!"

The mighty Swampert emerged from his Pokéball with a determined roar. He eyed Lanturn challengingly, the Light Pokémon responding with a defiant stare of its own.

"Yes! He's using Lear!" said May. "Brendan should be able to defeat Lanturn easily now!" But Todd was silent. Surely Brendan's opponent had to be prepared for this eventuality. Dorian wouldn't have become Gym Leader if he hadn't learned a few tricks along the way. Despite Lear's resistance to electricity, he reasoned, this battle was far from a foregone conclusion.

His suspicions were correct. "Are you hoping Swampert's Ground-type will make it invulnerable to any of Lanturn's attacks?" said Dorian. "Don't forget, Brendan, Lanturn _is_ part-Water."

But if Brendan was surprised at Dorian's composure, he didn't show it. "Oh, I know," he said, his voice almost dismissive. "I just felt Lear was the better choice for this battle, that's all."

"Alrighty." Dorian's response was as dismissive as Brendan's, making Todd certain that the Gym Leader already had something planned out. "Dive, Lanturn!"

"You, too, Lear!" Brendan ordered, not missing a beat. "And use Muddy Water to cloud Lanturn's vision!" _In addition, all the silt will make the water less conductive, _he though. _So Lanturn's Electric attacks won't do as much damage. Just in case._

As both Pokémon dove underwater, Lear released a cloud of thick mud from his mouth, turning the water in the pool a silt-like brown. The sunlight, which had caused the water to shimmer before, now barely cast a faint glow on the pool's muddy surface. The two Pokémon were quickly obscured by Lear's attack, disappearing into the pool's depths. Both Trainer and Gym Leader stared intently, waiting for one or the other Pokémon to surface.

A pair of antennae and yellow bulbs emerged in the middle of the pool, followed by the bulk of Lanturn's body. The bulbs, Brendan noticed, were glowing brightly, crackling with electricity. But where was Lear?

"Lear!" Brendan called out, knowing that Lear could still hear him underwater. Water Pokémon's ears were designed in such a way that they could pick up sounds coming from land even when submerged. "Where are you?"

A moment later, the Mud Fish Pokémon shot out of the water. His breathing was a little faster than normal, but otherwise, he seemed to be alright.

_"Swampert,"_ Lear rumbled with a jerk of his head to Brendan.

"Lanturn hit you?" Brendan asked.

"Ah, that's another thing," Dorian answered before Brendan could think on this matter further. "Lanturn's bulbs aren't just used to generate electricity."

Brendan gritted his teeth for a moment. "Of course. It used the bulbs to light its way through the mud." Which negated one facet of Lear's Muddy Water. If only he'd known…but no. They could win this.

"Lear, use Mud Shot!" the Hoenn Trainer ordered, determination back in his red eyes. Lear did as ordered, releasing a narrow, but concentrated beam of mud at his opponent.

"Dive!" Dorian said in retaliation, but Lanturn didn't need any urging. In a flash, it had dived under the surface, avoiding the Mud Shot. The light from its bulbs could be discerned as a round yellow glow beneath the silt and debris as it swam with astonishing speed toward its foe.

"Meet it head on with Brick Break!" said Brendan, taking advantage of the opportunity. If Lanturn was too close to the surface, they'd be able to see it because of the glow of its bulbs. Dorian probably realized this, too, and would adjust his strategy accordingly.

But for now, Brendan was gaining the upper hand. Lear was just as quick in the water as Lanturn was, and was able to deal a striking blow to the Light Pokémon with a glowing arm of Brick Break. Lanturn was sent hurtling through the water, hitting the side of the pool with a soft thump. Its thick, fleshy layer of skin had prevented it from taking much damage in its collision, but it still smarted from Lear's attack.

It wouldn't take much more for Lear to win this battle. Or so Brendan thought.

"Aqua Ring!" Dorian ordered.

"Oh, no!" May exclaimed as a pair of light blue rings formed around Lanturn, gleaming with currents of light. The rings appeared to emit some sort of ethereal energy that Lanturn absorbed into its skin.

Brendan narrowed his eyes. More than ever, they were going to need to finish this battle quickly. Aqua Ring would slowly restore Lanturn's health as they battled, and they couldn't afford to let it go on for too long.

"Now, Lanturn, use Hydro Pump!" Dorian ordered.

"Keep it away with your own Hydro Pump, Lear!" Brendan said.

Both Pokémon took in a deep breath, then fired thick streams of icy water from their mouths. The columns of water met with a thunderous crash, forming a churning white mass in the centre. Lear and Lanturn kept going at it, neither of them giving an inch as they released gallons of frothy, bubbling water at each other. The water level in the pool gradually rose as the attacks continued.

It was Lanturn who gave in first. Its water stores expended, it ceased its attack and immediately dove to avoid Lear's Hydro Pump, which was headed its way.

"Good, Lanturn!" said Dorian. The glowing bulbs of his Pokémon traced a circular route around Lear before vanishing into the murk, and Brendan knew Lanturn was circling Lear like a Sharpedo smelling blood. "Raise your defences with Stockpile!"

"He really _is_ going to drag this out," Todd commented, taking a picture of a wary Lear. "First with Aqua Ring and now with Stockpile. They're planning to wear Lear out gradually."

"Let's hope Brendan's prepared," said May, leaning forward and resting her head on the back of her clasped hands.

Todd grinned. "It's Brendan. I'm sure he's prepared."

Brendan glared at the surface of the pool. Lanturn was still out there somewhere, hiding in the murk. "Lear, use your fins to sense where Lanturn is," he said. Lear grunted affirmatively, the large blue fins on his head twitching slightly as they picked up movement in the water. "Good," Brendan continued. "Now flush it out and bring it to the surface!"

_"Pert!"_ Lear barked, diving headfirst into the water with a splash. His swimming created a current powerful enough for Brendan to see, even as he dove deeper.

"Stockpile again!" Dorian ordered. "Just a little longer, Lanturn!" He gave Brendan a knowing look. "I can see through your strategy, Brendan. It's the same one you used against Qwilfish: force the opponent into the air, where they'll be helpless against a barrage of powerful attacks. However, I'm sure you can see it won't be so easy this time."

Brendan's only response was to give the Gym Leader his trademark grin. "And I know what _you're_ doing, Dorian," he said. "Trying to drag this out by bolstering Lanturn's defences with Stockpile and Aqua Ring so Lear'll get tired." The surface of the water was calm now except for the occasional ripple. They knew that whatever was going on down there, Swampert was moving fast.

Then, Dorian struck. "Spit Up!" he ordered.

A multitude of white flashes suddenly appeared on the surface, their glow rising in intensity until several white orbs shot up out of the water with a series of splashes. "Lear!" Brendan yelled. The entire scene seemed unreal to him, the brilliant white light of the energy orbs momentarily dimming the sunlight and exploding into flashes of light in mid-air. He expected Lear to be blown into the air any minute now…

Lear did, in fact, surface at that moment. From the looks of it, though, he appeared to have dodged Lanturn's Spit Up, rising out of the water a good distance away from where the white orbs had come from. Brendan broke into a grin once more. "I knew you'd be able to dodge that one, buddy," he said confidently. "Now, what do you say we finish this up?" Lear gave him a low growl of affirmation, and they went on the attack.

"Dive and use Brick Break!" Brendan ordered. Lear was already on the move before the last word left his Trainer's lips, plunging back into the water and swimming full speed in Lanturn's direction.

Dorian and Lanturn were prepared, though. "Dodge and use Confuse Ray!" Dorian commanded to his Pokémon, who had surfaced after its failed attack. Lanturn didn't even go underwater this time: with a sharp flick of its tail, it dodged Lear, who had shot out of the water with his glowing right arm extended in attack. Another flick and Lanturn turned to face Lear, emitting a greenish-yellow wave from its front bulb in that same instant. But Lear had already dived back underwater, the Confuse Ray flying harmlessly above him.

"Keep pounding it with Brick Break!" said Brendan, clenching both his fists and tensing his arms. This was their chance now, while Lanturn was close. Lear surfaced again, chopping determinedly with alternating arms. Lanturn, however, was doing an excellent job of avoiding the attacks, dodging most of them outright as its smaller body, combined with its fluid movements in the water, presented a more difficult target to Lear. Other Brick Breaks only made glancing blows, sliding off Lanturn's smooth, moist skin.

"Great job, Lanturn!" Dorian called out. "Now hit Swampert's arm with Thunderbolt!"

Brendan's jaw dropped slightly. _What is he doing? Doesn't he know it won't affect-_

His thoughts were cut off as Lanturn released a thick bolt of jagged electricity from its front bulb. While it didn't do damage, per se, the Thunderbolt blocked Lear's Brick Break, locking his right arm in place. _"Swam…pert…"_ the Mud Fish grunted as he pushed down and attempted to cut through the powerful Electric attack. Brendan hissed, his eyes on the twisted band of electricity which set off showers of sparks and burned the very air around it. The faint smell of ozone reached his nostrils. _That's one hell of a Thunderbolt. I can feel my hair standing on end all the way over here!_

The worst part though – and Brendan was certain that had been Dorian's intention in choosing that attack – was that Lear was being pushed back little by little. The Gym Leader would want there to be as much distance as possible between the two Pokémon. That way, Lanturn could build up its defences again and attack from afar, steadily tiring Lear out as it launched attack after attack.

"Keep pushing it back, Lear!" Brendan yelled. He knew what they had to do. "And turn that Brick Break into a Hammer Arm!"

_"Perrrrrrrrrt!" _Lear roared, the glow snaking onto his upper arm and turning a bright, churning red. The two attacks, Hammer Arm and Thunderbolt continued to grind against each other, the shower of sparks intensifying. Finally, in one last burst of energy, Lear gained the upper hand and sliced through the band of electricity. The tip of his paw, still under Hammer Arm, struck Lanturn on the snout, drawing a cry of protest from the Light Pokémon.

"Get in close and use Mud Bomb!" Brendan ordered, acting immediately. If anything was going to get through all of Lanturn's defences, its Electric attacks, and its Aqua Ring, it would be a Ground-type attack. Despite Mud Bomb's imperfect accuracy, an attack from that close definitely wouldn't miss.

And that was what happened. Lear opened his mouth and hurled a thick blob of mud at Lanturn, who took the full force of the attack. Its cry was muffled by the mud, and before it could even think of reacting, Brendan called out, "Another Mud Bomb, quick!" Lear fired another mass of sediment at Lanturn, who sank into the water before surfacing shortly thereafter, swirls in its eyes.

Everyone was silent for a moment before the judge stated, with a raise of his green flag, "Lanturn is unable to battle! This round goes to the challenger!"

"Lear!" Brendan called out. "Great job, buddy!" Lear turned to Brendan with a smile and roared appreciatively, while May and Todd cheered from the sidelines.

"Way to go, Brendan!" May said with a wave which Brendan returned with a thumbs up and a grin. She blushed slightly, a smile still on her face. That twinkle in his eyes was so familiar to her, and for a moment, she remembered how Ash would have that exact same look whenever he won a battle. But with Brendan, it was different. More intense. Though Ash was the same way, it was somehow even more apparent with Brendan that he lived and breathed Pokémon battles.

Dorian returned Lanturn to its Pokéball with a word of praise for its performance. "Well, now, you've done a great job so far, Brendan!" he said, facing his challenger. "All three of your Pokémon are still standing. And I've only got one left. But this one is all I'll need." He unclipped another Pokéball from his belt. "Meet my star fighter. Mantine, I choose you!"

* * *

"One more," said May as Mantine emerged from its spherical home with a deep call of _"Maaan-tine!"_ It had a flat, horizontal body with long, wing-like fins on either side that swayed in the water. The upper side of its body was dark blue, the lower side a lighter periwinkle. Two antennae jutted out above its head, below which a pair of deep black eyes stared intently at the scene in front of it. A thin mouth smiled below the eyes, and further down its front, two pairs of gills on either side allowed it to breathe underwater. Finally, a white, paper-like tail flowed from its back.

Brendan scanned Mantine with his Pokédex. The Kite Pokémon, as it was classified, could glide above the water for a while if it built enough speed and could thus employ several Flying-type moves. He reckoned that this wasn't going to be an easy battle, no matter whom he chose to face Mantine. Nonetheless, Lear would certainly have the easiest time of it due to his size and experience. The trick would be the advantage Mantine had with his Flying abilities, an advantage that Brendan was sure Dorian would exploit to its full potential. He thought back to the earlier battles where he'd used Ledyba and Chimecho: now, the situation was reversed, and he was the one facing a Flying opponent on a Water field.

"Your move, Brendan," said Dorian as the challenger hesitated to give an order.

"Lear, Dive!" Brendan ordered. _Let's test out the situation first, see what Mantine's capable of._ Lear did as commanded, diving underwater and swimming toward his opponent at a steady pace. Mantine remained motionless, slowly bobbing up and down on the surface of the murky water. _What could Dorian be planning?_

As Lear came within arm's reach of Mantine, Dorian shouted: "Bounce!" In a flash, Mantine shot up out of the water. Lear barely had time to react before his opponent came hurtling back down in a flash of pale blue. Mantine hit him hard in the back, and both Pokémon dropped below the surface with a mighty splash.

"Lear!" Brendan exclaimed. "What on earth _was_ that attack? It's a lot faster than Fly… Lear, if you can hear me, hit Mantine with Brick Break!"

Todd stood up in his seat. "A Fighting move against a Flying Pokémon? Brendan, what are you thinking?"

"Interesting choice there, Brendan," said Dorian, echoing Todd's sentiments. "It seems Mantine has a slight speed advantage over your Swampert, so it should be able to dodge that attack regardless." But Brendan merely smirked. A moment later, Lear and Mantine surfaced. Both were panting, and Mantine appeared to have sustained some damage. Dorian's eyes widened, his jaw dropping slightly. "How did that happen?" he said with uncharacteristic surprise.

Brendan chuckled. "Lear can still use his fins to sense movement underwater," he explained. "While Lanturn had its bulbs to help it see through Lear's Muddy Water, Mantine has nothing. So Lear was able to sense it and attack without missing."

The small triumph Brendan felt at catching Dorian off guard proved to be fleeting as the Gym Leader quickly regained his composure. "That's some good strategy there," said Dorian. "Seems like we'll have to change things up a bit. Mantine, Agility!"

With a push of its wide fins, Mantine darted forward, drastically picking up speed as it circled Lear. The Mud Fish was struggling to keep an eye on his opponent, who might attack at any time.

"Now Bubblebeam!" Dorian ordered. "Keep moving!" Mantine shot out a stream of bubbles from its mouth while continuing to circle Lear, so that a curve of bubbles quickly closed in on him. Too quickly. Before Brendan could give an order, Lear was being pelted with bubbles from every direction.

"Keep at it!" Dorian urged as Brendan frantically tried to think of a countermove.

"Lear, Dive!" Brendan ordered. Without hesitation, Lear sank straight down, allowing a few bubbles to hit his face in the process.

But Dorian and Mantine's reactions were instant. "Wing Attack!" Dorian ordered, and Mantine seamlessly switched to the next attack, its fins glowing white as it razed the surface of the water and left columns of spray in their wake. Mantine's right fin collided with Lear's side as the latter attempted to dodge, pushing Lear backward. The Mud Fish recovered quickly, though, and Brendan called out his next attack.

"Take Down!" It would be better to use a Normal-type move, he reasoned, than to rely solely on Lear's strong Fighting-type moves against Mantine. As Mantine returned to strike another blow, Lear shot out of the water and slammed shoulder-first into his opponent. The two Pokémon hurtled to the side of the pool, and Lear pinned Mantine to the wall with his powerful paws.

"Push it away with Wing Attack!" said Dorian.

"Keep it in place with Brick Break!" Brendan ordered in reaction. _Now it makes sense,_ he thought as Lear's Brick Break collided with Mantine's Wing Attack. _Lear lost a bit of speed with that Hammer Arm earlier, which is why he's having such trouble keeping up now._

"Dive!" At Dorian's next command, Mantine slithered out of Lear's grasp and went underwater. Brendan groaned. Mantine was a slim Pokémon, and flexible to boot. Its Agility only made it easier to crawl out of tight spots. But at least they could see where it was now. Mantine was staying close to the surface some reason, creating visible ripples as it moved. Knowing Dorian, he was definitely planning something, and Brendan didn't want to fall into the Gym Leader's trap.

He decided they had to risk it, though. Brendan had a strategy of his own in mind, and it was the only one he was confident would work. "Lear!" he called out to the wary Mud Fish. "Use Ice Beam on the surface of the water, as strong as you can!"

Dorian's face remained impassive as Lear took a deep breath, then exhaled a beam of icy blue energy. As he swung the beam around, the surface of the pool froze into a glassy mirror of brown ice. Mantine's shadow was barely visible, but Brendan could tell it was approaching the single liquid spot that Lear had left surrounding himself.

"Dive-" Brendan started, but Dorian cut him off with a cry of "Bounce!"

Mantine sprung up instantly, shattering the icy surface as it did so. Brendan's eyes widened in terror as the Kite Pokémon hurtled toward Lear. The Mud Pokémon barely managed to dodge the Bounce attack, the speed of which had been amplified by Agility. Mantine smashed through the ice as it landed, making another gaping hole and leaving a mess of churning water and shards of brown ice in its wake.

"Hydro Pump!" said Dorian. Mantine rose to the surface and released a thick jet of water. But its target wasn't Lear; instead, it aimed the Hydro Pump at what was left of the ice, the force of its attack being enough to liquefy the surface once more.

"Move in and use Take Down!" said Brendan. They were quickly running out of options here. Lear was already exhausted from both Mantine's attacks and the previous battle with Lanturn, so they needed to end this quickly. Using as much energy as he could muster, Lear darted towards Mantine as it continued to melt the ice. If they were lucky, Lear would deal Mantine a blow to the side: it wasn't as though Dorian's Pokémon was in peak condition, either, so they could likely end the battle with a few more well-timed attacks.

"Dodge!" Dorian ordered.

Lear was too late, reaching the spot where Mantine floated just moments after the latter had finished off its Hydro Pump. Mantine sailed into the air while Lear, unable to stop his attack, hurtled through the churning mixture of ice, mud, and water before slamming shoulder-first into the edge of the pool. The Mud Fish groaned in pain, turning gingerly to face his airborne opponent.

"Now Bounce once more!" said Dorian. Mantine gladly obliged, rocketing toward Lear in a blur.

_We're not going to have time to dodge…_ "Ice Beam!" Brendan made a split-second decision, taking no time to ponder over anything other than Lear's immediate situation.

With a sharp intake of breath, Lear released another Ice Beam from his mouth. The tendrils of icy energy hit Mantine head-on, the Kite Pokémon being unable to dodge at the speed it was going. Nonetheless, Mantine continued to resist Lear's attack, despite the ice forming on its face and fins. "That's it, Lear!" Brendan encouraged, clenching his fists once more. "Keep it going as long as you can!"

May and Todd watched as the contest of attrition went on. "Brendan's got this in the bag!" May said confidently. "How can Mantine win against such a strong Ice Beam?" She felt herself becoming excited at what she thought was Brendan's imminent victory, but her enthusiasm waned as she noticed Todd's sceptical expression out of the corner of her eye.

"Hmm…" was Todd's response. "Somehow, I don't think Dorian's going to make it that easy for Brendan. So far, he's shown himself to be quite the strategist."

"But how can-"

May's statement was interrupted by Dorian shouting, "Stop, Mantine! Just fall back into the water!" As Mantine stopped resisting, the ice that had slowly been forming on its body suddenly spread, encasing its wings and lower body. Nonetheless, it fell back into the pool with a splash, disappearing underwater momentarily.

Brendan felt this was their chance. _It's now or never. _"Lear, Brick Break, and keep attacking!" he yelled.

"Hydro Pump!" Dorian ordered.

As both Lear's forearms began to glow white, Mantine resurfaced, shooting another thick torrent of water at its opponent. The ice on its body had mostly melted, and the exertion it was undertaking now completed that process. Forced suddenly on the defensive, Lear raised his arms and crossed them, grunting as he held back Mantine's relentless attack. For a few tense moments, everyone watched as Lear stood his ground.

Then, his arms collapsed to his sides, and Lear slammed against the pool wall with a resounding thud as he took the full force of Hydro Pump, roaring in pain. When Mantine's attack subsided, the spray of water that had enveloped that side of the pool cleared, revealing the limp form of Lear, bobbing slightly on the surface of the water.

"L-Lear…" Brendan stammered quietly. Wordlessly, he recalled his faithful starter into his Pokéball. "Thanks, buddy," he whispered, holding the red-and-white sphere close to his face. "As always."

Brendan raised his eyes to meet Dorian's as the judge announced the results of this round. Without preamble, he unclipped another Pokéball from his belt and shouted, "Go, Chimecho!"

"So he's using Chimecho, then," said Todd. May nodded, noting from his tone that Todd was doing more than just stating the obvious. It was more of an affirmation that Brendan had quickly chosen the better battler out of his two remaining Pokémon. Not that there was a choice in the first place, May reasoned. It wasn't like Ledyba would last long against a Flyer like Mantine. Chimecho, despite its smaller size, would be able to put up a much more effective fight.

All was still as Chimecho and Mantine stared each other down. Mantine bobbed slowly on the water, creating tiny ripples, while Chimecho levitated in place, her streamer waving slightly. Both Pokémon were exhausted and heavily damaged, so whatever the outcome of this battle, both challenger and Gym Leader knew one thing: it was going to be over very quickly.

"Psywave!" Brendan ordered, breaking the silence.

"Dodge and use Bubblebeam!" Dorian said with a wave of his arm.

As Chimecho released a multicoloured wave of energy from her streamer, Mantine leapt into the air and shot out another stream of bubbles. On Brendan's orders, Chimecho levitated aside and dodged once more as Mantine came around for another assault. "Extrasensory!" he shouted as Mantine dove into the water after failing to hit Chimecho. The Chime Pokémon's eyes glowed light blue, attempting to find her opponent's energy. Mantine surfaced moments later, a fading blue light trailing from its tail, and Brendan knew the attack had dealt a glancing blow. That Agility was proving to be its greatest asset.

It would also be its downfall.

"Chimecho, move in close to Mantine and get ready for another Extrasensory!" said Brendan. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This had to work.

Dorian smiled. "Think you'll score a direct hit if you can just get in close enough?"

"Something like that," said Brendan, chuckling softly.

"I see. But you know, that's only going to work against you." Dorian's smile didn't leave his face as he called out, "Hydro Pump!"  
"Oh, no!" May couldn't help but cry out, standing up from her seat. "Chimecho!"

"Relax," said Todd, grabbing her arm gently. "I think Brendan's got a plan."

Mantine shot out a third Hydro Pump as Chimecho closed in on it. But Brendan and Chimecho's reaction was quicker. "Psychic!" Brendan yelled as soon as he saw the frothy jet of water leave Mantine's mouth. An energy field formed around Chimecho, the Hydro Pump hitting it with a splash as the rebounded water flew in all directions. For the second time in today's battle, Brendan was pleased to note, Dorian was clearly shocked. And Brendan was going to press that to his full advantage.

"Keep going!" the Hoenn boy commanded, pointing at Mantine's Hydro Pump. Exhausted, Mantine finally stopped the attack of its own accord, and then Chimecho moved in to finish the job. Her Psychic, which she had until now been using defensively, came into direct contact with her opponent. Mantine let out a deep bellow as Chimecho's attack drained it of energy little by little. When Chimecho could keep it up no longer, she let the other Pokémon go, and Mantine fell into the pool as the light blue aura that had been covering it dissipated.

Brendan and Dorian stared at the scene in silence for a few moments until the judge held up his green flag, intoning clearly: "Mantine is unable to battle! Chimecho is the winner, and with that, today's battle goes to the challenger, Brendan Birch!"

Brendan let out a whoop of excitement, pumping a fist into the air. Turning his gaze to his exhausted Chimecho, he said, "We did it, girl! We won our first Johto Gym Badge!" Chimecho floated over to her Trainer, who squeezed her tight in an appreciative hug. "Great job. Really, thank you guys so much."

May couldn't help but giggle at Brendan's enthusiasm as she and Todd walked over to congratulate their friend. They weren't the only ones, though: after Dorian had conferred with the judge, telling him to record today's battle in the log, he walked around the pool to meet his challenger.

"Congratulations, Brendan," he said, extending a hand which Brendan firmly shook. "That was probably one of the most intense battles my partners and I have fought. No joke."

"I hear you," Brendan replied. "Same for our side! You really had us on the ropes, Dorian."

The Gym Leader nodded, reaching into the pocket on the left side of his shirt and pulling out a small silvery object, roughly the same size as the face of a man's watch. It was cut in the shape of two waves on top of each other, the top one light blue and the other turquoise. Presenting it to Brendan, he said, "I think you've definitely earned this Tide Badge." Brendan took the badge from Dorian, examining it almost reverently before he put it in a badge case that he fished out of his backpack.

"Thank you," he said, his voice solemn. His moment of quiet didn't last long, however, as he was soon bursting at the seams with excitement again, eagerly relating the events of the battle to May and Todd.

* * *

After the three of them had said their goodbyes to Dorian, they began heading back to the Pokémon Centre, taking the same scenic route they had before. Under the harsh glare of the midday sun, they chatted away – rather, Brendan was the one doing most of the talking, keeping the other two entranced with details of his past exploits as a Trainer and his future plans in Johto.

"Hmm, that reminds me," he said, rolling up the sleeves of his T-shirt. "I'll have to see how I can get to Violet City, where the next Gym is. I'll pass through New Bark Town first, then Cherrygrove…"

May picked up the conversation where Brendan had trailed off. "Cherrygrove, huh?" she said with a smile. "That's where Todd and I are headed. The next Contest's there."

"Really?" Brendan said, turning to face her directly. May really was gorgeous when she smiled, he thought. She had these amazing blue eyes the colour of the sea, which were partly hidden by a loose bang of hair that touched the bridge of her noise. Her slightly prominent eyeteeth somehow made her smile even more attractive, rounding it out, if Brendan could characterize it that way. Looking into her eyes, he felt a flutter in his stomach that he knew had nothing to do with his victory at the Coastline Gym.

Todd cleared his throat, and May looked like she'd suddenly remembered something. "Oh, yeah!" she said. "Brendan…" She suddenly found herself hesitating, and Brendan gave her an encouraging look, as if to say _go on._

"Do you want to travel with us?"

Brendan stopped in his tracks, not entirely believing he'd heard her correctly. _Travelling together? May and I…?_

May's smile vanished as she and Todd came to a halt. "I…I mean, I understand if you want to go on your own. You probably don't want a Coordinator and photographer holding you back-"

"Are you _kidding?"_ said Brendan. "May, Todd, I'd love to travel with you guys!" Suddenly, he was the one who was blabbering. "I'd been thinking this was going to be my first journey without Julian and I didn't really know if I'd like being on my own. I mean, I'm never really alone since I've got Lear and everyone…and speaking of Julian, I should call him today." He shook his head. "I mean, yeah! This is gonna be awesome!"

Todd chuckled. "I'm glad. It'll be good to have you along, Brendan!"

"For sure, man! I'll help you train Mankey and any other Pokémon you catch, too!" At Brendan's lead, the three of them continued walking.

"Eh…I'm not sure about this whole catching Pokémon business."

Brendan clapped Todd on the back. "Don't say that! I'm sure Mankey will love making some new friends!"

As they walked and talked, May couldn't help but feel an overwhelming joy, despite her loss at the Contest. Brendan had won his first Gym Badge in an astounding victory. Even better, he was going to go travelling with them, and May had done it without embarrassing herself. _At least, I didn't embarrass myself that much_, she thought with a giggle to herself_. _She glanced at Brendan, taking in the infectious enthusiasm that was plastered on his reddened face. _I'm glad. We've all made new friends here, and_ _I can tell we're going to have an amazing time here in Johto._

* * *

Finally, an update after the better part of a year. I will admit, this is an insanely long chapter, even by my standards. Just a little more to say in the way of author's notes:

1) The Coastline Gym and its leader Dorian both exist in canon, appearing in the Johto saga episode "Just Add Water!" It was mentioned that Dorian wanted his Gym to be officially recognized by the Pokémon League.

2) IAWNW will be undergoing a revamp at some point in the future, as I'm changing a few elements in the earlier chapters and doing a few general edits. Current chapters will stay up, though, and I'll make a note in every edited chapter clarifying that it was edited after a certain date. I'll also mention any IAWNW edits on my profile.

3) As always, thanks to the folks at The Reviews Lounge, Too and This Is Not A Forum for their support. You've all played a significant role in getting me to where I am today.


	8. The Town of New Beginnings

**Chapter 8: The Town of New Beginnings**

"Dude."

"Hmm?"

"_Dude!"_ Brendan repeated, more emphatically.

_"What?"_ Julian said, put off by his friend's unnecessary repetition.

"She asked me to go travelling with her!"

Julian's irritation vanished instantly. "Seriously?" Brendan nodded. "Nice, man!" Julian high-fived the VidPhone screen, Brendan responding in kind. "Moving fast, aren't you?" He laughed, then took a sip from the glass of iced Nomelade he was drinking. "A victory at the Gym _and_ travelling around with a hot chick. May Maple at that."

A dreamy smile came over Brendan's features, and he said softly, "If you could see her, though."

"That her?" Julian tilted his head, staring at a point over Brendan's shoulder.

Brendan dropped his smile. "What?" He turned to look behind him and jumped when he found himself staring into May's sapphire eyes. He gasped, gripping the edge of the desk in front of him as he withdrew. "May!" he exclaimed.

"Hi!" May said in a chirpy voice, waving at Julian. "Are you Brendan's friend?"

On the other end, Brendan heard Julian suppressing a snort of laughter, which May thankfully didn't notice. "Yeah, I'm Julian," he said by way of introduction. "And you're May, right?"

"That's me!" May affirmed. "Brendan and I are going to be travelling together in Johto."

"So he told me," said Julian. "You watch out for this one, yeah? Make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble."

"Wha…? Shut up!" Brendan protested half-jokingly as he glared at his friend, trying to insert himself back into the conversation.

"Don't worry," May said in the same jocular vein. "He's in good hands with Todd and me."

"You guys have fun, yeah?" Julian said, and Brendan shot him another glare. Clearly he hadn't missed the double entendre.

"I'm sure we will!" May replied, her voice still playful. It was Brendan's turn to blush now, and he gesticulated as discreetly as he could at Julian, mouthing _Look what you've done now, asshole! _"Anyway, I'll let you guys keep talking," May continued, oblivious to Brendan's embarrassment. "It was nice meeting you, Julian!"

"Wait-" Brendan started, but May was already walking back through the crowded lobby of the Pokémon Centre. He sighed as she disappeared down the hall in the back, then turned to give his best friend an indignant look.

"Come on, man, it was a joke," said Julian, still laughing.

"I'll show _you_ a joke," Brendan said mock-threateningly, raising a fist.

"What are you gonna do all the way from Johto?" Julian finished off his Nomelade, setting the glass down on the desk.

"Not like you're that far away in Kanto," Brendan retorted, earning him a snort and a roll of the eyes from his friend.

The boys continued their friendly banter, their jokes becoming increasingly elaborate and boastful. Julian had arrived in Vermillion City a couple days ago and had contacted Brendan via PokéNav as soon as he'd gotten there. They'd talked every day since then, both of them knowing that the chances of doing so later would be rare once they were out in the wilderness, travelling from city to city. It was going to be their first journey apart, and Brendan had realized this the moment they'd said goodbye in Littleroot Town last week, but it was only now beginning to sink in. He'd given Julian a blow-by-blow account of both his encounter with the Organization and today's battle against Dorian, and the other's enthusiasm brought back memories of similar situations they'd been in together in Hoenn.

Still, Brendan thought as he and Julian ended their VidPhone call (the latter ending with a teasing "See ya, loser!"), it was definitely for the best that they travel separately for a while. They'd largely kept to themselves in Hoenn and it would be good for them to get out and meet new people. He hoped Julian would be as lucky in making new friends as he had been with May and Todd. Julian could be a little intimidating at first, he knew, given the combination of prodigal talent in Pokémon training and an assertive, sometimes vain, personality. But Brendan was sure Kanto would prove to be rewarding for his friend.

If anyone deserved that, it was Julian.

Brendan stared at the blank VidPhone screen for a few moments with that thought in mind. He released the breath he'd been holding and got up, making his way back to his room. It was finally time to start on his new adventure.

* * *

Two light blue gems glowed in an abyss as they reflected the moonlight. In reality, they weren't gems at all, but eyes. Eyes used to darkness so complete that even the stygian darkness of the forest was like day to them. At a silent command, the owner of these eyes withdrew into the trees. It was no more than a shadow as it made its way back to her, a mere flit of purple that only the most developed night vision would be able to discern. Even in broad daylight, it was invisible and inaudible, much more so at night when it was in its element.

_"Reviens, _Sableye." A flash, and Sableye returned to its Pokéball.

She moved through the forest alone, silently, blending in as though she had been part of it her entire life. Without needing to strain her ears, she could hear the Tohjo Falls cascading into the ocean, a dull roar that accompanied the sounds of the forest: a soft breeze wafting through the trees, the cries of nocturnal Pokémon beginning their day. The Falls…that's where they would be waiting for her. She allowed herself a rare smile, not out of any particular joy, but at the mere fact that progress had been successfully made. Reaching the hideout had been a test of sorts, one which proved not only her abilities, but those of her Pokémon as well. Leaning her hand against a smooth portion of cliff side, she whispered a memorized phrase. As though at her command, a narrow slit opened in the rock and she went inside, the rock sliding back to its original position as she disappeared from sight.

She walked along a narrow corridor, a faint light from ahead gradually brightening her path as she advanced. Turning a corner, she came to a wider hall, one which was fully lit by small overhead lamps connected by a thin white wire. She took out a card from her pocket and slid it into the slot next to the imposing metal door at the end of the hall. The little light near the slot blinked green, and she stepped inside as the door opened.

"I see you managed to find the place!" a voice declared as she entered a bare but spacious room with a metal floor. A large red 'R' had been painted in the centre, and it was on top of this emblem that a tall woman with crimson red hair stood. A jovial smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, fleshy lips tinged with pink lip gloss separating to reveal a row of straight white teeth. Feral red eyes matched the colour of her hair, a stark contrast to her white one-piece uniform which hugged her curvaceous figure. The uniform itself had long sleeves with a black hem, a low-cut V neck accentuating her full breasts and revealing a skin-tight black undergarment. On the left side was a black patch with the same red 'R' that was on the floor. High cuts on either side of the lower portion allowed a generous glimpse of thick, muscled legs, on which she wore knee-length white leather boots. A thick black belt with a silver buckle held the uniform in place, and completing the ensemble was a pair of long golden earrings that hung slightly above her shoulders.

"Not that it's much," the woman said with a sniff, gazing around haughtily. "The atmosphere is just terrible. Between you, me, and these ugly rock walls, dear, I would be quite embarrassed to bring anyone here." She walked slowly toward her visitor, the heels of her boots clanking on the floor.

"It is functional," came the soft-spoken reply, tinged with a graceful accent.

The woman smiled, placing an arm around her associate's shoulders. "Really, Marie. Always so diligent. So focused on the task at hand." The two of them made their way across the room and through another corridor. "Other girls your age, their minds are only on fashion and accessories and parties and boys…" Her voice trailed off as they came to another door. She spoke the two words that made up the access code, and the door parted into two to allow them in.

They entered into another wide room. Well lit and furnished, it resembled a conference chamber. An wooden ovoid table stood in the centre, surrounded by leather swivel chairs. Rich red carpet underfoot ensured that their footsteps were silent here. To their left was an enormous screen currently displaying nothing but static, the soft hiss providing a calming background noise. Some of the chairs were occupied by a number of young men and women dressed in black uniforms, their faces partly obscured by black berets. All of them had large red 'R's on their torsos. They immediately cast glances at the woman and her companion as they entered, though she paid them no attention as she continued speaking.

"I'm simply saying, dear, you should let loose once in a while." She gestured openly with her arms. "Enjoy your youth while it lasts! One day, you'll reach my age and you'll think, 'Why didn't I do this and that when I had the chance?'"

"It does not matter," said the other. "My only concern is to fulfill my duties adequately. For the benefit of Team Rocket."

The red-haired woman laughed, a high shriek followed by a lilting cackle. She tittered for a few moments in the same rhythmic cadence before wiping tears of mirth from her eyes and facing her companion. "Oh, goodness…oh, I haven't laughed like this in a while." The other people in the room cast each other furtive looks: it didn't take much for their Executive to spontaneously burst into similar fits of laughter, of which this had been a more subdued example.

"The benefit of Team Rocket!" the woman repeated, still chuckling. "What do you think we are, dear, _reputable?"_ She spoke the last word disdainfully, as though the entire concept was ridiculous to her. Her gaze flitted to the people at the table for a moment, and she walked around them slowly to take a seat facing the door by which she'd just entered. She sat down and crossed one leg over the other as she clasped her hands together, her motions slow and deliberate. Making sure to expose her bare leg at just the right angle, she did not miss the quick glances the young men at the table shot her way. The gesture was also not lost on the young woman she'd just accompanied inside, and behind the stoic veneer, the Executive could detect a hint of displeasure in the girl's olive-skinned features. Though, knowing the girl, this displeasure was not because of any perception of vulgarity, but rather−

"Wasn't too hard to find _you_, as usual." A male voice drifted from the doorway, getting everyone's attention. "If we ever lose Arianna and need to find her, boys and girls, we just follow the cackling," the voice continued, his words drawing a round of laughter from the people at the table, the red-haired woman's being the loudest of all. Walking – or rather, sauntering – into the room was a slim man in his forties wearing the same tight black uniform as his subordinates, with a few minor adjustments. Underneath the slim line of his lips was a goatee that matched quite well with the unkempt appearance of his greying purple hair, which he had combed over his balding scalp.

"Cackling indeed," said the woman, still stifling a few giggles. "I can see how _you_ charm the ladies, Petrel. That wit of yours is quite unmatched."

"I do have my moments," the purple-haired man admitted.

"Welcome, Executive." Petrel gave a start at the sound of the girl's voice, the angle of the door having hidden her from his view. But he caught his breath quickly, chuckling as he closed the door behind him with a soft click.

"Snuck up on me there, did you?" he said. But his tone was cheerful rather than reprimanding. The girl was not surprised: she had known what to expect from these Executives, and working with them over the past few months had merely confirmed those expectations. "Now _there's_ someone we could all take a little lesson in discretion from." He emphasized the word _discretion_ as a corner of his mouth curled into a lopsided grin and he narrowed his eyes at the red-haired woman: another obvious nuance, and one which sent the object of his glance into yet another, smaller fit of laughter. Petrel joined in this time with a low, slightly raspy chuckle that was somehow endearing, almost like a father would laugh with a young daughter as she played with her toys.

"But enough pleasantries." Petrel's tone instantly became serious. "On to business." He took a seat next to the woman and produced a manila folder from the briefcase he'd been carrying, inside which were a few stapled packets of paper and what looked like a metal floppy disk. "Arianna, if you please." The red-haired woman pressed a button on the table in front of her, a secret panel sliding open on the table to reveal a set of more buttons and switches. Her colleague then inserted the metal disk into a slot on the array, pressed a few buttons, and the giant screen changed from static to a bright blue. Another press of the button, and a wall of text appeared on the screen.

With a wave of his arm, Petrel motioned to the girl, who had not moved from her spot. "Can you see from there, dear?" he asked. "Wouldn't you rather sit down with us? You are, after all, a crucial element in this plan."

"That will not be necessary." The girl's reply was neutral, neither sarcastic nor defensive. "I will stand guard in the event of an attack." There was no use arguing with her, the Executive reasoned. If anything, she was diligent in her duties. _Quite possibly, she's the best agent Team Rocket's ever had. Dare I say, even better than Melissa. I can see why she was chosen._

Arianna flicked a switch on the panel to turn off the ceiling lights, the intensity of the blue screen momentarily blinding her. Another press of a button, and the screen changed to show a simple layout of streets and buildings. Red and blue lines were clustered around one large structure in particular, roughly in the centre of the map, but isolated from the majority of buildings to the south.

"The red routes," Arianna explained, "lead inside, while the blue routes lead out. You see that each route is marked by a number. The number you're given corresponds to the route you will follow. While some deviation is expected, know that these routes have been chosen for optimal efficiency. Marie!" The girl was paying attention, of course – she always did – but it wouldn't hurt for Arianna to exercise a little of her authority. "You will be accompanying me and Group 1 directly."

"Understood."

Petrel's eyes flicked toward the standing girl before he returned his attention to the screen, and they shared a quick glance. He listened as Arianna went over the details of their plan. He'd known about it since the moment of its inception a couple weeks ago, but hearing her describe the process confirmed just what it was they were about to do. This undertaking was one of Team Rocket's more ambitious projects, one he was certain would be a complete success. In fact, they would be moving out right after this meeting. He felt a rush of exhilaration despite himself, despite the fact that he was just getting used to the new power structure in Team Rocket's Johto Division: after all, was he not one of its Executives, one of the commanding officers who would lead the way in establishing their organization's hold over Johto's extensive criminal underworld?

"I trust none of us have trouble understanding this mission so far," said the red-haired Executive as she finished handing out maps to each individual grunt.

"Understanding, no," her fellow Executive commented. "But implementing it? I certainly hope we won't end up improvising like we did last time. We all know how that turned out." He chuckled. "Closest you've been to the slammer in a couple years."

"O ye of little faith." Arianna took the comment in stride. "Archer knows what he's doing, Petrel, even if he is a little brash." Another press of a button, and a few lines of text appeared.

"So Archer came up with this plan himself, did he?"

"That he did." Arianna smiled with mock sweetness. "And look! For all us doubting Thomases," –Petrel returned her smile– "Archer was even kind enough to provide us with a walkthrough!" To an outsider, this 'walkthrough' would have appeared to be utter nonsense, but for those currently in the room, the text on the screen provided them with extensive details on their upcoming mission. As Arianna went into another round of lecture, Petrel couldn't help but think that his superior was most likely reminding them of his strategic prowess. Indeed, the new head of Johto operations never hesitated to demonstrate his credentials.

Which, of course, had the added benefit of reminding any recalcitrants who was in charge.

"Above all else, troops, stealth," said Arianna, concluding her speech. Enunciating her point, she gestured to the girl, who had silently walked over to her left as she spoke. "Stealth and speed. You go in, do what you need to do, and meet up at the rendezvous point." Turning the lights back on, she then stood up and removed the metal disk from its slot. "These instructions will not be repeated. Understood?"

A chorus of "Aye!" rang out in response, and Petrel rose from his seat. The time had come.

"Team Rocket!" he intoned, placing his right hand in front of him, fingers curled up into a fist. The others around the table immediately followed suit.

"Raid on the city, knock out evil tusks!" they shouted as one. The room burst into momentary chaos as the black-uniformed grunts got out of their chairs and rushed to the door. Just as it looked as though they were about to collide, they formed into a line and ran out into the hall in a surprisingly orderly fashion, while the girl, Arianna, and Petrel looked on.

Petrel sighed theatrically as the last of the grunts slipped through the door. "It does me proud to see the young folk so enthusiastic in their duties." He smiled at the girl, whose face remained passive. "A shame I can't stay and have a glass of wine, Petrel," said Arianna, "but I must attend to my own task."

Her fellow Executive smiled in turn. "I'll bring a bottle of my best Blackthorn once this is over." He mimed raising a glass in toast. "To our success…and above all, to Team Rocket."

Arianna returned the gesture, her smile widening. "I'll see you after our victory." Glancing at the girl, she added, "We're off, Marie."

The girl nodded, following the Executive as she left the room. She did not so much as spare a glance at Petrel. He was a competent sort, needlessly suave and genteel at times, but Team Rocket could rely on him to do his job. Whereas she never assumed anything to be one hundred percent certain – indeed, such a concept was merely theoretical – the possibility of Petrel performing less than adequately was so low as to not be worth even a thought.

It was with this attitude that she faced all of her missions. Deviations were to be taken into consideration, as Arianna had pointed out word-for-word, but their possibility could not be allowed to overtake one's calmer thinking, one's judgement. There was the mission, and then there was her role in it.

She would succeed in this role. There could be no other possibility.

* * *

"Hurry up, Slowpokes!"

Brendan's exhortation was met by a long groan that started out low and rose in pitch, followed by a whiny, "It's seven in the morning." Todd didn't make a sound, but only because he was too tired to actively echo May's sentiments. He shuffled along at a casual pace, trying to keep the Hoenn boy in his sights. However, it seemed that Brendan was not to be deterred this morning. Fresh off yesterday's victory at the Coastline Gym and a good night's sleep, he walked at a brisk pace despite his friends' protests. Todd sighed as Brendan ran all the way up the hill in front of them.

"View's great from up here!" the enthusiastic Trainer yelled, waving at his friends. He beckoned them with a jerk of his arm. "Come on!"

Realizing the futility of further discussion, May and Todd marched up the hill, the rich green grass spongy beneath their shoes. To his credit, Brendan waited for them and didn't take off running again the moment they'd caught up to him. "Look behind you, Todd," he said, smiling. "You'll definitely want to take a pic."

Brendan, May, and Todd stood at the top of the hill, imbibing the breathtaking view. Rising in the east was the bright morning sun, illuminating the landscape in a cold and merciless glow. Coastline City sprawled behind them, a patchwork of roads and buildings that gradually gave way to sloping green hills. They could barely make out Dorian's Gym on the beach, partially hidden as it was by cliffs. Farther inland, steep mountains and cold streams wove their way through a daunting maze of pine forests. Flocks of Murkrow and Misdreavus were retreating into the shady depths of the trees, ending their nocturnal day with some well-deserved sleep. Far to the east, the impressive Tohjo Falls cascaded from their lofty height to the glassy blue sea below.

The snap of Todd's camera cut through the sound of Pokémon calls that filled the air. Brendan and May gathered in close to see the freshly developed photograph.

"That's amazing, Todd," said Brendan. And it really was, capturing the scene so vividly it resembled more a window onto that gorgeous view than a photo of it.

"There are a lot more places like this in Johto," said Todd, still gazing out at the scene below him. "We'll be seeing some of them in between Gym Battles and Contests."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go already!"

But they kept a slow, steady pace as they continued on to New Bark Town. May and Todd could only be pushed so far, and though he grumbled a bit, Brendan really didn't mind slackening the pace for his friends' sake. Their path led them inland as the sandy beaches near Coastline gave way to stretches of craggy rock broken up by the occasional stream that flowed from the mountains to the north. They chatted for a bit while walking, Brendan and May taking the opportunity to relate a few anecdotes from their previous journeys.

"Gotta admit, I'm a little jealous," Brendan said once May had finished recounting how she'd met Celebi in a forest in Kanto. "This is the first time I've been out of Hoenn. It'll always be home to me, but it's nice to travel to other places."

"I guess I'm a little jealous of you, too," May replied. "You know so much more about Hoenn than I do, even though I've lived there all my life." She stared at the grass below, pausing before she spoke again. "I think it's because I'd always wanted to go travelling. Visit new and exotic places. And I never realized how much Hoenn had to offer." She spoke softly, worried she might offend Brendan. He'd made it clear that he was a proud Hoenner, and didn't take perceived insults to his homeland lightly.

But Brendan wasn't offended in the least. He chuckled softly before saying, "There's no place like Hoenn, that's for sure. Julian and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

May's expression became puzzled. "I thought you said Julian was from some other country."

Brendan nodded. "Yeah, his parents are from Zand. But he's lived in Hoenn most of his life, anyway. He and his folks used to go back to Zand sometimes."

"Wow, lucky guy!" May sighed exaggeratedly, sapphire eyes twinkling. "I wonder what Zand is like."

Brendan wordlessly glanced at the ocean to their left, now a distant line of blue, then looked straight ahead. He remained silent as they started making their way downhill, following the gentle slope of the Route 27 highway which would lead them straight to New Bark Town. Ahead of them was a moderate stretch of lowlands, the short, drooping trees concealing what would once have been a swamp but had long since been drained as a consequence of human habitation. Beyond the trees, a few outlying buildings were visible.

"It's a big place," Brendan finally said, still facing forward. "Really big. They've got everything: mountains, jungles, deserts. And they speak a lot of different languages there, too. I almost went there a couple years back. Didn't happen, though." His voice was softer now, but more intense, as though the subject greatly interested him but he didn't want to show it.

"Well, that's too bad," May answered with a slight pout. "It sounds so interesting! I bet the Contest scene there is _huge."_ She opened her arms in front of her, a wide smile gracing her features. "There's a whole world out there to explore. I want to see it all."

Todd laughed with her enthusiasm. "Easy, May," he said, adjusting the shoulder strap of his bag. A police car whizzed by on the highway, sirens blaring, and he waited before speaking again. "We haven't even scratched the surface here in Johto yet. The world will still be there when you've won the Grand Festival."

"Mmm, keep that praise coming, Todd," May answered.

"Yeah," Brendan chimed in, "there's still room for her head to swell a little more- _Ow!"_ Brendan rubbed the spot on his head where May slapped him, laughing.

"Well," May said emphatically, putting her hands on her hips. "At least _someone_ here has confidence in me."

"I have plenty of confidence in you!" Brendan protested, pretending to be affronted. "For real, May." His tone softened. "I know you'll get…"

The Hoenn boy's words were drowned out by the siren from another police car that raced by, and the three of them covered their ears to block the deafening squealing. "What the…" Brendan muttered when the siren faded away, still wincing from the noise. He gazed in the direction of New Bark Town, tracing the highway's path as it entered the forest ahead through a cavernous slit in the trees and then disappeared into darkness. They were nearly level with the forest now, the town hidden behind the trees. "Must've been an accident nearby or something."

"That _is_ weird," said Todd. "Oh, well." He shrugged, dismissing the thought.

"Probably nothing to worry about," May echoed.

Though a few more vehicles passed them by, their trek through the forest was mostly quiet. It was cool underneath the low-hanging branches, but not unpleasantly so. A fine mist hung in the morning air, illuminated by the sunlight that dappled through the canopy above and creating a sense of mystery. Pokémon climbed through the trees and scurried through the bushes all around them, though the forest camouflaged its inhabitants well. Occasionally, a patch of fur or feathers would appear through a gap in the foliage, only to retreat when the group walked by or a vehicle approached. The very air around them was subdued, not even a breeze blowing, and even sounds as loud as passing vehicles were oddly muffled. This was a place of calm, almost sacred. Little by little, the travellers felt serenity overtake them, washing away the intensity of their emotions…

And excitement flooded through them as they exited the forest, finding themselves at the top of a rise in the land. Stretched out below, more a continuation of the surrounding environment than an imposition onto it, were the cheerful buildings that made up New Bark Town.

"This way to the town where the winds of new beginnings blow," Brendan said, reading off a nearby wooden sign with an arrow pointing in the appropriate direction. He took a few steps, the grass crunching softly under his sneakers, until he stood at the very top of the rise and gazed down. He fingered the Tide Badge he'd won yesterday and which was now pinned onto his T-shirt.

_I'm really here._ His heartbeat quickened, enthusiasm flooding every pore of his body and threatening to boil over at any moment. _Winning against Dorian was just the start of it all. The start of my adventure in Johto._ His thoughts transported him to a stadium filled to capacity with cheering crowds, their cries filling his ears.

The grin on his face fell as he took a better look at the scene below him. Throngs of people were gathered around a complex of buildings isolated from the main part of town, pouring over onto a main street and into the spacious town square. Cries filled his ears, yes, but the crowd making them sounded confused rather than happy. Something big was happening.

If the high concentration of police cars and armed vehicles interspersed among the crowd was any indication, that something was not good.

"So it wasn't a coincidence that all those cops passed us on the highway," said Todd, who'd walked over to Brendan's side. "Looks like they were all headed here."

"What could've happened?" May questioned from Brendan's other side. A limousine of all things drove past at that point, guarded on its left flank and rear by two beige armoured cars. The vehicles kicked up a draft which briefly ruffled their clothes before subsiding.

"I'm not sure," said Brendan, his expression serious. "Let's go and find out."

* * *

What appeared to be simple confusion when viewed from the city limits proved to be utter pandemonium when Brendan, May, and Todd reached the town square. The mostly empty cobblestone plaza, with a marble fountain in the centre that discharged a feeble trickle of water, stood in stark contrast to the wide thoroughfare ahead which teemed with activity. Harried Officer Jennies and their subordinates desperately tried to maintain order among droves of people whose emotions ranged from bemused to borderline hysterical. Brendan, May, and Todd gave the scene wide-eyed looks.

"I don't think we're getting through here anytime soon," said Todd, deadpanning. Indeed, the crowd was so tightly packed that it blocked any view of whatever lay beyond. Most likely, the police had cordoned off a crime scene further down the street as they carried out an investigation, and the townsfolk were naturally intrigued and concerned.

They approached the crowd, overhearing a male voice farther down yelling, "We're not even safe in our own homes!" A pause, and then, "No, no, no, don't give me that 'we're doing all we can' schtick, Officer, I've heard it before! This kinda thing's happened to me _personally_… This is our neighbourhood… Yeah, well, I don't _feel_ safe and neither does anyone else here…"

"Geez," Brendan muttered, just loud enough for May and Todd to hear him over the din. "They're like a bunch of Northburghers." He stopped suddenly, then cast an apologetic look at May. "Ah, sorry, May." He'd momentarily forgotten that her family originally hailed from a suburb of Petalburg City called Northburg. The inhabitants of Northburg had gained the unfortunate reputation of being rowdy and quick to anger, and also to overreact to minor crises.

"No, it's alright," May responded. She wrinkled her nose, but at the unnecessary agitation of the crowd instead of Brendan's comment.

"Hmm." Todd made a non-committal sound, standing on the tips of his toes so as to look over the heads of the people in front of him. Being taller than his friends, he was in a more advantageous position to do so.

"You see anything, tall guy?" said Brendan.

"Not yet. Just a lot of people. Crowd's thinned out over by those buildings on the edge of town. Whatever it is, that's where it's happening. Or has happened, I don't-"

"Are you three Trainers?" a female voice asked sharply, cutting Todd off. They'd been so focused on the crowd that they hadn't noticed an Officer Jenny march up to them. Like her identical relatives, the policewoman was dressed in a smart dark blue uniform with the sleeves rolled up, a collection of gleaming medals and insignia above the left breast pocket. A few strands of aquamarine hair poked out from underneath her cap and onto her forehead, her dark brown eyes staring at the kids with more than a little impatience. Brendan suspected she was not going to be as easygoing as the Jenny he'd encountered on the ship to Johto.

"I'm a Trainer," said Brendan, nodding. "And May's a Coor-"

"You all have Pokémon," Jenny said sharply. "I'll let you through to see Professor Elm." Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and began yelling at the crowd to disperse so they could let the Trainers through. Brendan, May, and Todd looked at each other and shrugged, hurrying to follow the path Jenny made for them through the sea of people. There were a few protests, but generally, the crowd let them pass with little resistance.

They reached the edge of the crowd after walking a few blocks. The buildings here thinned out, giving way to the mix of conifers and deciduous trees similar to the ones they'd seen in the forest earlier. As the last of the crowd parted, they saw that the area ahead had indeed been isolated, a line of yellow police tape and a squad of officers holding back curious onlookers. However, the road leading to the complex of buildings they'd spotted earlier was just as crowded as the city street behind them, though far more orderly. A few officers, as well as several figures in dark suits, helped to maintain order among lines of Trainers gathered in front of makeshift booths that flanked the road. The booths, little more than sheets of fabric held up by metal poles, catered to a variety of needs such as Pokémon healing and trading. One sign even advertised Pokémon battles, which would be held in a nearby field. Brendan smiled as he glanced at the field in question: several battles between excitable rookie Trainers were already underway, both Pokémon and humans blissfully unaffected by the surrounding disturbance.

"Proteus has set up some facilities here while we do our work," said Jenny as she led them to the side of the road, where they wouldn't be in the way. "So just ask their reps if there's anything you need. The police are busy, as you can see, so please don't come to us unless there's an emergency."

"Wait," said May, holding out a hand as the policewoman rushed off. Impatiently, Jenny swivelled around to face them again. "What happened? We've just gotten here, so we don't know what's going on."

Jenny sighed. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you," she said, the clipped tone of her voice softening and her shoulders slumping. "Not like everyone else hasn't figured it out already." She gestured to the buildings at the end of the busy road, which at this distance resembled a university campus. Most were made of a nondescript pale stone, though several of the newer ones boasted the artful glass and wood postmodern design that was gaining popularity all over the world. At the centre of the complex was a circular structure, all glass and steel, with a sloping sheet metal roof covered in solar panels. From the high number of police offers and soldiers swarming around it, that building appeared to be the focus of their activities.

"This here's New Bark University," Jenny explained. "It's also where Professor Elm gives starter Pokémon to Trainers beginning their career in the Johto region. The research facility – that's the glass building over in the centre – was robbed last night." Brendan gritted his teeth while May and Todd gasped. "All the Pokémon there were taken. The starters, too. Proteus has been sending in replacements, but they're quickly running out. Any beginners better hurry up if they want their first choice."

The policewoman sighed again, rubbing at her temples with gloved hands. "Doesn't help that word's gotten out we suspect…" She paused and lowered her voice. "Team Rocket."

May and Todd's ears perked at the mention of that name, and May rolled her eyes and groaned. "Not those losers."

Brendan blinked, looking first at Officer Jenny and then at May. "Team…who now?" he said.

"You've never heard of them?" said May.

"Uh…no." Brendan scratched his head.

"They're this bunch of deadbeats who go around stealing other people's Pokémon," said Todd scornfully.

"They're also a group you need to be extremely careful of," Jenny added. "Team Rocket's activities have been increasing drastically since this spring. Most Trainers are lucky enough not to encounter them, and even a rookie with a full team might be able to hold off their grunts, but they're not to be trifled with. If you run into them, don't battle them. You contact the authorities immediately." She gave Brendan in particular a pointed look, as if to tell him she knew what kinds of trouble a teenage boy Trainer could get up to and that she wasn't going to stand for it. "Now, if you'll excuse me." Without another word, the policewoman turned around and made a beeline for the field where battles were taking place.

Brendan, May, and Todd watched Jenny leave and then looked at each other. "Not sure if there's any point in staying here longer," said Todd. "It's not like our Pokémon need to be healed, and we stocked up on items in Coastline City yesterday."

"Mmm." May nodded. "Yeah, let's just go." She glanced at a suited man with close-cropped hair as he walked past, making note of the emblem pinned onto his lapel. The emblem was gold in colour and consisted of the shell-like Pokémon Kabuto, placed above a row of three Pokéballs and flanked by a pair of rapiers. In fact, she noticed that that very same emblem was everywhere in the area: on the sides of some cars parked nearby and hanging from the booths. "I don't know what these Proteus people are all about, but I'd rather go to a good ol' Pokémon Centre."

This time, it was Brendan's turn to be surprised. He blinked, staring at May in utter shock. "You don't know about the Proteus Syndicate?"

"Um…was I supposed to?" May asked slowly.

"I've heard about them once or twice, but I don't know much about them," Todd admitted.

"They're pretty much _the_ image of Pokémon training nowadays!" Brendan said excitedly. "They have facilities for Trainers all over the world, including battlefields, hotels, breeding centres…you name it. They also help maintain the Gyms and pay Trainers' allowances and organize the Pokémon League and Battle Frontiers."

"Wow." May was impressed. "I never thought they'd be so deeply involved in the system. And to think I didn't know _anything _about them until you told me, Brendan."

But Brendan was only half-listening. He stared at one of the larger booths, where several older Trainers had lined up. An LED screen propped over the booth displayed a scrolling line of text which read _Sign up for training at standard Proteus Syndicate facilities here._ Brendan stared ahead intently, folding his arms across his chest. "You know, I think I'll sign up myself. I could use a little coaching for my workouts." He turned to his friends. "Why don't you guys join me?"

May and Todd chuckled nervously. "Ah, no thanks," said May, waving her hands in front of her. "I don't think I could handle it, you know?" She glanced at the line of Trainers. "Those guys could probably wipe the floor with me."

"And use me for target practice," Todd quipped.

"Aw, come on!" Brendan whined jokingly. "Alright, alright, I'll just go sign up for myself. Back in a bit, guys."

He had just turned and was ready to go stand in line when a younger boy walked up to him and said, "Hey, you're a Trainer, right?" The boy hesitated, looking at the ground and shuffling his feet, but quickly regained his composure and fixed Brendan with a confident stare. "Will you have a battle with me?"

The only response Brendan could make was a surprised "Uh" as he assessed his challenger in turn. He estimated the boy to be two or three years younger than him and a little more than a head shorter. The kid had a thin frame, even for his age, which was accentuated by the loose black T-shirt with a gold-and-white Pokéball imprint he was wearing. His beige knickers seemed several sizes too big for him and clashed with the single-strap gray bag on his back, a few precarious moments away from sliding off his narrow shoulders. In contrast to his pale skin, he had eyes the colour of the midnight sky and similarly shaded hair, a thick strand of which protruded from under the black-and-yellow baseball cap he wore backwards on his head.

The boy exuded a fiery enthusiasm, his body practically trembling with it. It wasn't the overconfident hubris to which most rookie Trainers seemed to develop after one or two victories, but a pure excitement and eagerness that manifested itself in the twinkle of his eyes and his wide smile. He'd probably just gotten his first Pokémon and couldn't wait to try battling with it. Just like Brendan and Julian had been that day two years ago in Littleroot Town when they'd gotten Mudkip and Treecko. That day would forever remain etched into Brendan's memory.

Brendan's lips widened into a warm smile. "Sure, let's go sign up. I'll show how you how battling works."

The expression that formed on the boy's face gave new meaning to the notion of a smile lighting up a room. Brendan couldn't help but break out into laughter as his acquaintance shouted "YES!" while pumping a fist.

"Well, someone's really happy to be battling you, Brendan," said May as she and Todd fell in line with Brendan and his challenger, who were headed to a booth down the road to reserve a spot for their battle. "What's your name?" she asked the boy. He was about to respond when he spotted something, or rather someone, and shouted: "Professor Elm! Helen! Someone's agreed to battle with me!"

A man and woman a few steps away looked up from what had appeared to be an animated conversation and returned the boy's smile. _That must be Professor Elm,_ Todd thought, glancing at the man. The Johto professor was quite tall, approaching two metres, and wore a white lab coat that covered most of his body. He was clearly recovering from a fair amount of distress, his mousy brown hair dishevelled and the rims of his beady brown eyes red, as though he'd been struggling not to cry and had failed. However, he showed considerable cheer at the sight of his young acquaintance running up to him, the three older kids in tow.

"It's good for Trainers to get battling experience early on." Professor Elm's voice was nasal, but he spoke with the cultured tones of academia. Quite a contrast to his more laid-back father, Brendan thought. "But you only just received Cyndaquil, Ethan. Don't you think it would be better to get to know your Pokémon first?"

"But I've been wanting to battle for ages!" said the boy, his enthusiasm in no way tempered. "Besides, I'm sure Cyndaquil and I will get along great! I love the little guy already."

"Actually, I believe the Pokémon you received was a female." Elm adjusted the steel-rimmed glasses anchored on the bridge of his nose, drawing himself to his impressive full height. "Aside from the mammary organs, which are the clearest indication, the distinct ridges of fur on its side-"

"You'll pardon the interruption, Professor, but I believe we haven't made the acquaintance of Ethan's new friends." Everyone turned to face the speaker, the woman who had been standing beside Elm. Her high-heeled shoes accentuated her above-average height and matched the dark blue business suit she wore, a simple but smart affair consisting of a jacket and knee-length skirt with small cuts at the sides. She wore a white shirt underneath her jacket. Her blonde hair was tied into a bun, and her eyes were barely visible behind her fashionable black sunglasses.

"I'm Helen Shields," she said, facing Brendan, May, and Todd with a professional smile that was perfectly in character with her businesslike appearance. "I'm a director of the Proteus Syndicate and I've been placed in charge of the Syndicate's mission to assist Trainers while the authorities continue with their investigation of the campus." Her Slateport accent resonated with Brendan and May, who recognized the distinct inflections of her voice immediately.

"Nice to meet you, Helen!" said Brendan, politely shaking hands. He glanced at her eyes as he did so; either it was a trick of the light or they had a particular sparkle to them, as though she were particularly enthusiastic. Most likely, Helen had reasoned that she'd transformed New Bark Town's tragedy into an opportunity for the Proteus Syndicate. They certainly seemed to be doing good business this morning.

Greetings were exchanged with Professor Elm, and then, Brendan turned to the excitable boy whom he would be battling. "Your name's Ethan, right?" he said as they stood in line and May asked Helen some questions about the Proteus Syndicate.

"That's me!" Ethan said. "What's your name?" Clearly, being interrupted just now hadn't bothered him in the slightest. Brendan, May, and Todd introduced themselves, the latter two engrossed in Helen's explanations of Proteus. Brendan listened while Ethan continued:

"I just got my Cyndaquil an hour ago. My cousin Jimmy and I didn't think we'd be able to get in because of the crowd, but the nice Jennies made room for all us Trainers, and Proteus even brought new starters to replace the ones Team Rocket stole! Isn't that great?"

"You guys sure are lucky," Brendan said as the group lined up at the battling booth. The line had grown a bit longer while they'd gotten distracted by the arrival of Professor Elm and Helen, but the latter assured them that there would still be a spot available when Brendan asked. "Looks like Proteus pulled out all the stops to make sure things would work out for the rookies."

"The university does have a close relationship with Proteus," Elm intoned. "So they're always quick to respond in the case of an emergency like this one, particularly in Johto and Kanto."

"I'm not sure if we'd be that lucky if we were in Hoenn," said Brendan.

Helen nodded sympathetically. "Unfortunately, our Hoenn branch is not as well-equipped. I've been an active campaigner for an increased presence in Hoenn from some time now – as you can gather, I'm from Slateport originally – and I'm glad to say that we're making progress in that regard."

"That's good," said May. "That way, no one like Team Aqua or Magma could gain power again."

"Ideally," was Helen's response.

Professor Elm excused himself shortly thereafter, and they continued to talk as the line quickly shrank. Brendan and Ethan were a few spots away from registering for their battle when a yell of "Ethan!" caused them to look around.

"Jimmy!" Ethan shouted back as a young man, at least a head taller and a year or two older than Brendan, came up to them. His hair was almost identical in style and colour to Ethan's, down to the fringe sticking out of his backward baseball cap, and they shared the same midnight blue eyes. _Must be the kid's brother, _Brendan thought. In contrast to Ethan's skinny frame, however, the older boy was strongly built, his red T-shirt and yellow shorts showing off thick, toned limbs. His face was firm was disapproval.

"There you are!" Ethan said. "Guys, this is my cousin-"

"What do you mean, _there you are?"_ the stocky boy admonished. "_You_ were the one who ran off! I spent the last hour looking for you." He sighed. "Did you at least get your Pokémon?"

"I did!" Ethan's bubbly attitude diminished, if just a little. "I got a Cyndaquil, just like you did, Jimmy!"

"That's great." Jimmy's tone was dismissive. "Come on, let's go back home. It's getting a little crazy here."

"But I'm just starting on my journey! Besides, I'm gonna battle Brendan now." He pointed to the Hoenn boy with his thumb.

Jimmy actually recoiled in horror, but Ethan was oblivious as he made introductions: "This is my cousin, Jimmy. He taught me everything I know about Pokémon." There was much pride in his voice, but by the incredulous look on Jimmy's face, the older boy was barely paying attention. "Jimmy, this is Brendan, May, and Todd, and you already know Helen-"

"A battle!" Jimmy yelled, and May and Todd became uncomfortably aware of people around them staring. "Are you nuts! You're going to send out a fresh starter against…" He glared daggers at Brendan. "You, how long have you been battling?"

The Hoenn boy returned the look with interest. "Two years now," he said. "And the name's _Brendan._ Remember it, buddy. Brendan Birch, son of Hoenn's Professor Birch and ranked second place at last year's Ever Grande Conference." His accent became more prominent, from which May could tell he was getting angry. _Not more drama. Didn't we have enough yesterday with Drew?_

But as May feared, it only escalated from there.

"And you want to battle this guy?" Jimmy rebuked, his glare focused on his little cousin. Ethan shrank as he launched into a tirade. "You go up against him and you could cause some serious damage to your Pokémon! You could stunt it for life! Did you even think about that when you decided you wanted a battle – if you were even thinking at all!"

"Ah!" May let out a shocked gasp. _That's so harsh, putting him down like that!_ Her eyes narrowed, and she could feel her own hands balling into fists.

"I…I'm sorry," Ethan said in a small, high-pitched voice. His head hung low, and it appeared that he was fighting off tears. _Poor kid,_ May thought. _And he really seems to look up to his cousin, too._ "I just wanted to have fun battling, like you do."

"Perhaps Jimmy's right, though," Helen said kindly, putting a comforting arm on Ethan's shoulder. "It will really be more helpful for Cyndaquil if you go up against an opponent who's just starting out like you, Ethan."

"We could always just do a little training," Brendan offered, to an encouraging nod from the Proteus rep. "It doesn't have to be a real battle. I'm sure they won't mind if-"

_"No,"_ Jimmy said emphatically. "He doesn't even _know_ his Pokémon yet. Cyndaquil's been sitting in its ball since Professor Elm gave it to you, hasn't it?"

"Mmm-hmm," Ethan mumbled.

"I thought so. You're not even close to being ready for a battle yet. How do you expect to work with your Pokémon when it barely even recognizes your face?"

"But maybe-"

"We're going home, Ethan," Jimmy said with a tone of finality. "You've got a lot to learn before you even _think_ about setting off on your own."

"But-"

"Now!" He grabbed his cousin by the wrist and prepared to drag him off, until May decided she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Hold it!" she said angrily. Brendan and Todd were taken aback by her outburst; if anyone was going to lose it, they all would have pegged Brendan. "Where do you get off treating Ethan that way? What's he done except wanting to battle, like any starting Trainer?" _Not that I felt like battling when I first started out, but still._

"That's none of your business," he replied coldly, not even sparing her a glance as he let go of Ethan, who followed sullenly.

"You're not even giving him a chance!" May shouted at his back, and Jimmy paused, turning to face her. "I know Brendan. He'd never hurt anyone else's Pokémon."

"I don't care what he would or wouldn't do." A dark look crossed Jimmy's face. "As I said, it doesn't concern you. You don't even know us. Come on, Ethan, we're going."

The argument clearly over, the crowd dispersed once more, Jimmy and Ethan weaving their way through it. Ethan gave them one last, forlorn look, and May waved goodbye.

Brendan sighed. "Well, I guess no one's going to be battling today. Let's go, we're holding up the line."

* * *

"What a jerk!" May made a derisive noise.

Helen had led them to a mostly empty cafeteria on a part of the campus that hadn't been cordoned off for the investigation. There had been no need for them to mill around outside anymore, but Brendan was still eager to get in some special training with the Proteus Syndicate. They were currently seated at a table close to the glass wall on the far side of the cafeteria which looked out onto a plaza beyond. The New Bark Town University logo, a Stantler flanked by two huge tomes, was painted onto the table, the motto 'Giving Birth to New Ideas' emblazoned in fancy script underneath.

The conversation had quickly turned to Ethan and Jimmy, and May and Brendan didn't hesitate to criticize the latter.

"I have known their family for some time," said Helen, adjusting the rim of her sunglasses. For some reason, she wore them indoors as well. Upon closer inspection, they were a hybrid lens, one of those brands which cost a fortune but changed shade according to the amount of light in the surroundings. Though still quite dark, the lenses had cleared somewhat since they'd gone inside, and Helen's eyes currently appeared as an odd, rusty shade. Odd, but eerily beautiful and unique. "Jimmy is quite protective of his younger cousin," she explained. "But he cares deeply for the boy, and only wants him to be prepared for the journey ahead. I believe it was for the best that Ethan didn't battle at this point."

"He didn't have to be so nasty about it, though!" May protested. "The poor kid was almost crying. And the way he looked at us while Jimmy dragged him off…"

"Ethan is a cheerful young man. An episode like this will not deter him in the slightest, I can assure you." Helen spoke in a reassuring tone. "I will definitely be in contact with the family soon and talk to them about allowing him to train with Proteus. He will be in safe hands with us." She paused, then: "And while we're on the subject, let's talk about your training, Brendan."

"When do I start?" the Hoenn boy asked eagerly. "And make sure these guys get in some training, too! Especially this guy" –he clapped Todd on the back– "He just caught his first Pokémon last week."

"I said I'm not interested!" Todd said indignantly. As if on cue, Mankey burst out from the Pokéball on his belt, appearing on the table with a flash and chattering happily. Todd wailed. "Mankey! You're supposed to stay _inside_ the Pokéball!" Mankey's only response was to tackle the photographer and nearly send him flying out of his chair, to Brendan's uproarious laughter.

"See what I mean?" said Brendan. "He needs all the help he can get."

_"Shut up, Brendan,"_ Todd hissed as he managed to calm the excitable Pig Monkey down.

But Helen merely gave them an amused smile. "Whenever he's ready," she said. "First, let's talk about your own training, Brendan. Do you think you can make it to Violet City in two to three weeks?"

Brendan took a moment to picture the map of Johto in his head. "Should be," he answered. "Probably closer to three weeks, though."

"I will be there myself in mid-September. Let me sign you up, and I'll work with you myself."

"Really?" Brendan's eyes widened. "I mean…do you have the time? Aren't you really high up in Proteus?"

Helen chuckled, a twinkle in her eyes. "True, most of my activities are of an administrative nature. But it is important to keep the body as well as the mind sharp. I train our clients personally as often as I can. And if your boast to Jimmy was true, I can tell that you have much potential, Brendan. It is exceedingly rare, as you know, for a first-timer to make it anywhere beyond the Top Thirty-Two in any League. To make it to the final round in your first year shows considerable talent."

May and Todd expected Brendan's head to swell at the praise, but his answer was surprisingly grave. "It's not me," he said, not even a smile on his face. "It's my Pokémon who got me as far as I did. My Pokémon, Mom and Dad's advice, and my best friend back in Hoenn. I think…he could've become the Champion."

_He gets really serious about that, doesn't he?_ Todd thought. _About that Ever Grande Conference. I can only imagine what it must've been like for him._

"With the right training, you can become a Champion, too," said Helen. "It's in all of us. Meet me in Violet City when you can – you'll need to go there to battle the Gym Leader in any case – and I'll set up a program for you."

"Thanks so much, Helen. This means a lot to me."

Another faint smile crossed Helen's lips, the mid-morning sunlight illuminating half of her face while leaving the other half in shadow. Her lenses darkened again, but the twinkle in her eyes was still there.

"Of course, Brendan. I look forward to working with you."

* * *

**A/N:** Once again, a big thank-you to my readers and reviewers, and particularly Mistical Ninja, who is my biggest inspiration. Thanks also go to the good folks at the Reviews Lounge, Too and This Is Not A Forum, whose support is invaluable to me.

Couple things to note. First, Ethan is based off the male protagonist for HGSS with the same name, though I've changed his clothing to make it more suited for summer weather. Second, edits on the earlier IAWNW chapters will begin later this month. For the most part, I'll just be correcting silly technical mistakes and removing awkward phrasing. The most significant changes beyond that will occur in Ch. 2 in order to reflect an administrative shift taking place in the IAWNW-verse.


	9. Hitting the Road

**Chapter 9: Hitting the Road**

By midday, the cold morning sun had turned scorching hot, and even Brendan was sweating profusely as they marched along Route 29. This was a quiet, unassuming stretch of Johto, its only distinguishing features a nearly endless forest of coniferous trees which undulated along with the hills. Not many vehicles passed them by on the thin line of baking asphalt that served as a highway; the three friends welcomed the ones that did for creating a quick breeze as they drove by with a whoosh.

"I don't mind the heat," said Brendan as he wiped his forehead with the sweatband on his wrist. "But I'm not used to it being hot _and _dry." He twisted to grab the water bottle at the side of his backpack and took a generous gulp – though not too generous, as they needed to conserve water until they got to Cherrygrove City. Meanwhile, May was fanning herself with a black foldable fan she'd bought in Coastline City, Todd doing the same with a piece of cardboard.

"Let's take a break for a little, eh?" the photographer suggested. "We haven't stopped since leaving New Bark Town, and Cherrygrove isn't going anywhere."

"I second that," said May.

For once, Brendan didn't jokingly protest, agreeing with a nod of his head. They angled right into the forest, and the change in atmosphere was instantly noticeable. The trees were thick with branches, forming a canopy which provided cool shade while allowing just enough light in. Finding a tiny clearing among the trees, they laid down the canvas that Brendan carried with him and sat down.

"You're always so well-prepared," May commented, stretching her sides. "It's like you have everything you could ever need in that bag of yours, Brendan."

Brendan shrugged. "Dad's advice, really. He made sure Julian and I were prepared to tough it out in the wilderness. Most of what he does is fieldwork, so he knows firsthand how to survive far from any town or city."

"You learned a lot from Professor Birch, didn't you?"

"He knows a lot." Brendan smiled. "Dad showed me how to journey and Mom showed me how to battle."

"Was your mom-"

Brendan cut Todd off by holding up a couple fingers, putting them to his mouth and then pointing at a clump of bushes ahead of them. Todd followed Brendan's stare. Sure enough, poking out of the brambles were a pair of long, furry ears. Todd recognized the creature as a Sentret, but the Hoenners would likely have never seen one in the wild before. Which meant, of course, that Brendan would be eager to capture it.

As expected, Brendan's hand went to his belt. Without unclipping the Pokéball he was holding, he pressed its button, and Murkrow emerged. In a brown flash, their observer darted off.

"After it!" Brendan ordered, all attempts at subtlety abandoned. Murkrow darted after his quarry, while his Trainer shot up from the ground with equally impressive speed and gave chase in turn.

"He could've at least waited for me to take a picture," Todd griped as May and he stood up.

"Don't get up, back in a sec!" Brendan shouted as he ran off. But the other two followed anyway.

It didn't take long for Murkrow to trap his prey, a terrified little creature with a round, flat body and long, bushy tail. The wild Pokémon chittered in protest as it darted around wildly in an attempt to flee, its long ears flailing.

"Peck!" Brendan ordered, and the Darkness Pokémon struck its opponent in the belly with its beak. Sentret was knocked down, though it got back on its feet and attempted to flee. Murkrow pecked it again, and it collapsed against a tree. Wordlessly, Brendan threw a Pokéball, which engulfed his quarry in a red glow before sucking it inside.

By the time the three humans caught up to the Pokémon, Brendan's Pokéball had stopped chiming, Sentret still trapped inside. Murkrow did a couple flips in the air, cawing a victory cry before landing on Brendan's hooded head.

"Great job, Murkrow!" Brendan congratulated. "That's one more for the team!"

"I'm impressed," May admitted, the forest floor crunching between her sneakers as she walked up to him. "That makes three Pokémon you've caught so far in Johto, hasn't it?"

"Yeah." Brendan held up Sentret's Pokéball as he scanned it with his Pokédex. "So this little guy's called Sentret, huh? Think I'll send him to Dad once we get to Cherrygrove. I don't think he's seen many of those."

"You're really going to catch every Pokémon in Johto, aren't you?" Todd asked rhetorically.

Brendan grinned. "And then some."

They headed back to the spot where he'd lain the canvas and sat down, eating an enjoyable lunch of rice balls and chicken nuggets they'd gotten from New Bark Town. After resting for an hour in the sun-dappled shade, they returned to the main road and followed it as it winded through the grassy hills. The sun slowly sank as they marched on, their surroundings growing quieter as afternoon faded into early evening.

The only interruptions occurred when Brendan came across some other wild Pokémon he had never seen. Brendan easily captured the small, purple-furred Rattata that had the misfortune to be crossing Route 29 while he was looking, but the aggressive Spearow they came across later wouldn't give in as easily. After the bad-tempered bird nearly tore Murkrow's tail feathers off, Brendan was forced to have Chimecho hold it down with Psychic in order to capture it. Everyone was grateful when Spearow's Pokéball teleported straight to the Pokémon Storage System in Hoenn, from where it would go straight to Professor Birch's lab.

"You know, I don't think Ash caught this many Pokémon in a month, much less in a day," said May, putting her hand back at her side. She'd been shielding her face against the sun's glare before it waned into a dark ball of crimson that sank beneath the western horizon.

"I did say I was going to catch every Pokémon," Brendan replied with a chuckle. "We should probably find a spot to camp out. Doubt we'd be able to make it to Cherrygrove before it gets dark."

"It's already getting dark," said Todd, checking his PokéNav. He turned a knob to the side to move the map. "Definitely another few hours' walk, and we should do that tomorrow morning," he advised. "The Pokénav says there's a campground a few hundred metres from here."

"Sure," said Brendan, May nodding.

* * *

It was dark by the time they found the campground, a simple gravel lot with several cleared sites radiating out from it. Off the main road, it was heavily forested, pitch-black under the trees. The three of them were the only ones using the site tonight, adding to the sense of isolation.

May released Blaziken as Brendan gathered some fallen branches and placed them in the crude fire pit in the centre of their clearing. With a gentle Ember attack, Blaziken set the tinder ablaze, and everyone released the rest of their Pokémon. They set up their tent quickly, Brendan eager to get dinner ready and share good times by the campfire with his friends.

"It feels like forever since I was roughing it out in the wild," he said excitedly as he secured the last tent strap in place. "Sleeping under the stars with nothing but the sounds of nature all around, far from civilization."

"I wouldn't mind being a little closer to civilization, myself," May admitted. "Nature and I haven't always gotten along."

"Oh, come on!" Brendan gently pulled May over to a log in front of the fire pit, where Todd was sitting and roasting a hot dog on a branch. "There's nothing like dinner and good friends around a campfire. See? Todd's got the right idea. Cooking hot dogs on an open flame, and s'mores. Can't have a campfire without s'mores. Oh, and some cold Leppa cider, that'd be perfect right about now."

May preferred to imagine a plate of steaming spinach lasagne served to her by a smartly-dressed waiter with a cultured accent, followed by a slice of tiramisu and washed down with a glass of sparkling Nomelade, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Brendan was so happy to be here with her and Todd, and she had to admit, it was kind of fun camping out like this. Especially since Brendan's enthusiasm was so contagious…

She let go of his hand as they sat down next to Todd, blaming the colour in her cheeks on spending a day walking under the hot August sun and her proximity to the fire.

Their dinner was delicious. Brendan and Todd took down two hot dogs each, and even May would have had a second if the first one hadn't filled her. For dessert, they made Brendan's preferred version of s'mores, mixing roasted marshmallows with chocolate sauce and honey in between firm, sweet graham crackers. Even some of the Pokémon delighted in sampling human food for a change, though not one of them complained at eating their usual fare, mixed with spicy shredded Pokéblocks. Brendan insisted on regaling them with scary stories afterward, though his performance was so hilarious and over-the-top that it had them all choking with laugher instead. By the time they decided to head to bed, it was ten o'clock: early by May or Todd's standards, but they were both exhausted from walking all day and the notion of a comfy sleeping bag was rather appealing at the moment.

"You guys go ahead and sleep," said Brendan when they'd all brushed their teeth. "Lear and I will put the fire out." The other two went inside the tent while Brendan separated the burning embers and then had Lear use a soft Mud Shot to snuff them out completely. May hurried to turn on the night lamp on the floor, startled by the sudden darkness.

"Be right back," said Todd. "I left my backpack outside." He went back outside and May gave a contented sigh. Her first day on the road with the boys had been perfect. Well, there was that little incident in New Bark Town – what was that Jimmy guy's problem, anyway – but it didn't matter much. They'd gotten along so well, it was like they'd known each other their entire lives.

May heard Todd sigh outside, almost masking a soft rustle from somewhere nearby, and he didn't sound as contented as she had. "Seriously, Brendan?" the photographer groaned. "We're about to go to bed. I'm sure whatever that Pokémon is, it'll be around in the morning."

"But what if it's nocturnal, like Murkrow?" said Brendan. "I should catch it while I can!"

May pictured Brendan smirking and wrinkled her nose. Even lifelong friends, she reflected, had quirks that got on each other's nerves. And Brendan's smirk was one of them for her. For the life of her, though, she couldn't imagine what was so annoying about it. It was just a silly expression, at the end of the day.

The characteristic sucking sound of a Pokémon being returned to its ball indicated that Brendan had probably recalled Lear. Sure enough, Brendan said, "Sorry, buddy, but I'll need someone who can see well in the dark. Let's go, Murkrow!" There was a soft whoosh as the Darkness Pokémon was released, followed by happy cawing. For Murkrow, it was like early morning.

Brendan shushed at his Pokémon. "Quiet!" he warned. "Or you'll scare the hooting Pokémon away. If you help me catch it, I'll let you stay out of your Pokéball all night, as long as you're back at camp by morning."

Murkrow gave a questioning cry, as though confused by his human's instructions, but he apparently followed dutifully as Brendan ran off into the woods with a "Let's follow it!" Both the flapping of wings and crunching footsteps receded into the distance. May sympathized with Murkrow's bafflement. What had Brendan been talking about? She hadn't heard any hooting, and she doubted his hearing was that much better than hers.

Too late, Todd called, "Wait!" As he walked back into the tent, he shook his head and sighed heavily. His exasperated face matched May's own.

"And he's supposed to be the one who goes to bed early," she said.

Todd nodded. "I'm not sure what he's running after," he said anxiously. "He mentioned he heard something hooting, but I didn't hear anything. And then, he just ran off."

"The only thing hooting is his brain." May let out a frustrated groan. "I'm going after him." They stepped outside the tent and she released all of her Pokémon. "I'll take Blaziken with me and leave the rest of my Pokémon with you. You don't mind watching the camp, do you, Todd?"

Todd didn't answer. He had frozen on the spot and tilted his head slightly, as though listening for something. "Do you hear that?" he said, his voice rising in pitch. "It sounds like something's rumbling toward us."

May rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me _you're_ hearing things, too. Look, I-" She stopped abruptly. Todd was right. "I'm hearing thi-"

She never finished her sentence as the ground behind her erupted in a geyser of debris, and a hissed _"Chaaaabokka!"_ rent the air. May whirled around just in time to see a long, cordlike creature burst out of the hole, and cried out, recoiling at the sight of its long, flat head.

Blaziken instinctively darted at the intruder to protect his Trainer. Flames erupted at his joints, and May got a quick glimpse of glistening purple scales in the flickering light before whatever this creature was slithered aside. She was grateful, at least, that she hadn't recalled her Pokémon earlier.

"That's it, Blaziken!" she encouraged. "Keep it away and knock it out!" The Pokémon battling them was terrifying, something May would never have imagined existed in Johto. It somewhat resembled a Seviper from Hoenn , but it was longer and more thickly built, with flaps of skin near its head that rounded out and were decorated with colourful patters. A pair of yellow eyes gleamed in the wan light of Blaziken's joint flames, while the forked tongue of its mouth quivered as it hissed menacingly. None of this, of course, explained why it had attacked them in the first place.

"Todd, get the flashlights!" she said. Todd inched his way to the tent, slowly but surely so as not to become a target for the snake. Meanwhile, Blaziken kept up his assault, but the mysterious snakelike Pokémon slithered aside. Bulbasaur then joined the fray, trapping the intruder with her Vine Whip while Squirtle pelted it with Bubblebeam. The scaly Pokémon hissed angrily, squirming free and digging its way back underground. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be easy to subdue.

Out of the side of her eye, May saw that Todd had reached the tent. He had his hand on the flap when a blur shot out from the forest and tackled him in the side. He let out a yelp of terror, then a choked gasp as he looked upon his assailant.

"Todd!" May cried. A Pokémon with fur darker than the blackest night had Todd pinned down, its front paws on his shoulders and back paws holding down his right leg. Feral red eyes stared into his own, orange snout opening to reveal a set of razor-sharp teeth that crackled with fire, teeth that could easily rip out his throat as the flames dancing around them scorched him alive. The same Fire Fang attack lent the scene a hellish flickering glow.

"Houn…doom…" Todd whimpered. "N-nice doggie…"

May's stomach twisted into knots at seeing her friend at the hellhound's mercy. She was all too familiar with Houndoom herself, being as it was one of the choice Pokémon for Team Magma members. But why would it be here, though? Was it the snake's ally? More mysteries. Her horror doubled when the snake shot out of the ground near Todd, but it lost its balance as May's Beautifly slammed into its head with an Aerial Ace. This gave Blaziken the opening he needed to hit the snake on its sinewy back with a Blaze Kick, creating a momentary arc of fire. It hissed in pain and slithered back, its movements somewhat less fluid but still agile enough.

At the same time, as Houndoom was snarling at Todd, Mankey emerged from his Pokéball and grabbed the dog's neck in a flash of crème fur. Distracted, Houndoom loosened its grip on Todd, and he pushed his assailant off while Mankey kept swiping at it with his paws. "Mankey!" Todd shouted, his voice laced with concern. "What are you doing?"

"Bulbasaur, Squirtle, help Todd and Mankey!" May ordered, keeping an eye on Blaziken and the snake Pokémon, who were now fighting one-on-one. She crept around the melee, Beautifly and Munchlax flanking her as she made her way back to the tent half-blind in the darkness, lit only by Blaziken and Houndoom's flames. If she could just get to her flashlights and Pokédex, they'd have some advantage over their opponents.

A lot of things happened then. First, Houndoom shook Mankey off and made to leap over Todd, who still lay on the ground, to tackle May. But Mankey caught Houndoom by its arrow-tipped tail, causing the Dark Pokémon to howl in pain and rage. Lithely, it turned around and snapped at its opponent with flaming jaws. Mankey was hardly an experienced battler, and Houndoom quickly managed to sink its teeth into the Pig Monkey's arm, piercing his flesh and burning him at the same time. Mankey let out a high-pitched squeal; Todd, seized by an uncharacteristic fit of rage at his Pokémon's distress, yelled as he leaped and grabbed Houndoom around the middle. Squirtle's Water Gun and Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf hit Houndoom at just that moment, causing it to let go of Mankey's arm. Todd, panting heavily, recalled his injured Pokémon and got up, turning to face Houndoom head-on. Up against four Pokémon and two humans, the hellhound merely growled, keeping its glowing red eyes on its numerous foes.

May seized the opportunity to sneak into the tent and grab a couple flashlights, her Pokédex, and Todd's PokéNav. She glared at Brendan's sleeping bag, indignation rising within her. How could he run off on them like that? Wouldn't he have heard the noise and come running back? He couldn't have gotten that far in these few minutes. She left the tent and turned on a flashlight, taking in the scene in front of her: next to her, Todd struggled not to quiver as Houndoom leered at him with a slavering maw of flame. Squirtle, Munchlax, Eevee, and Beautifly were gathered around their nemesis in a half-circle, while on May's right, Bulbasaur had gone to help Blaziken fight off the snakelike creature.

"Here's a flashlight," May said softly to Todd. "And your PokéNav."

Todd accepted the items gratefully. "Thanks," he said, putting the flashlight into his pocket and slipping on his PokéNav.

"Now, let's see what this Pokémon is…"

As May scanned the wiry Pokémon with her Pokédex, she heard a pair of young male voices drawing closer. Human voices, she thought as Dexter identified the snake as an Arbok, with a powerful constricting body and deadly poison with which to take down its foes. They had to be these Pokémon's Trainers. That made sense. There was no way these Pokémon were acting on their own, not with their coordination.

"…turn on…_after_ we…" one voice said insistently.

"Well, we're here, anyway, so we may as well," said the other voice, now clear. Two young men – boys, really, May thought as she aimed her flashlight at them; they couldn't have been more than five years older than she was – emerged from the forest close to where Blaziken, Bulbasaur, and Arbok were fighting. They both had neck-length wavy hair, the one guy blonde and the other auburn, and wore skin-tight black suits with white gloves and boots. May exhaled sharply as she saw the large red R on their torsos.

Team Rocket? But…

"Hey, hey, lady, watch where you're pointing that thing!" the blonde guy protested, holding up a hand to shield his eyes from the light. "I'm going blind here!"

"Dude, forget about that, it's time for the motto," his companion urged, and May saw he was carrying a set of small speakers that could be hooked up to a portable music device.

"You're from Team Rocket?" she demanded as the two men stepped into the clearing.

"All questions will be answered _after_ the motto," the auburn-haired man said impatiently, and pressed a button on the music player, a sultry jazz tune emanating from the speakers.

"Wrong track, idiot!" the blonde chastised, fiddling with the music player as May and Todd looked on bemusedly. Even the Pokémon had stopped fighting and were watching the spectacle.

The music switched to an ominous fanfare as the two young men stood up straight and faced their audience, the auburn-haired one putting the speakers on the ground. The track was grainy, as though it had originally been recorded for a gramophone.

"From smouldering ashes we are born," intoned the blonde man, as though he were reciting lines in a play.

"Asunder are peace and harmony torn," his companion responded in the same vein.

"A thousand colours paint an image of fear."

"As we descend, know your doom is near."

"To be or not to be, what does it matter?"

"We kneel to no one, our enemies scatter!"

May was rather disturbed by the whole scene, even as she realized that it sounded very familiar. And very cheesy. Yes, this was definitely Team Rocket, though she didn't have a clue who these guys were. She'd been expecting Jessie, James, and Meowth, the Team Rocket trio that had chased her and her companions across Hoenn and Kanto.

"Rosencrantz!" the blonde proclaimed, kneeling with his right leg and pulling one arm back, as though preparing to shoot an arrow.

"Guildenstern!" his auburn-haired companion said with equal enthusiasm, going up on one knee and extending both his arms to his sides in a crane pose.

"Honour and morals are nothing but lies!" The two of them stood straight again.

"Trampled in the wake of Team Rocket's rise!"

The conclusion of their performance was greeted by silence, the ominous track ending precisely at that point. Neither human nor Pokémon made a sound while the Rocket duo smiled as if basking in the non-existent admiration. Finally, May spoke up:

"You guys aren't Jessie, James, and Meowth," she said. Her own voice sounded strange to her, almost like she was disappointed that the usual villains hadn't shown up. "I thought they were supposed to be Team Rocket."

The haughty grins fell off their faces and they blinked, as though not registering what she had said. Then, they burst into uproarious laughter.

"Jessie…James…Meowth!" the auburn-haired man said in between bouts of mirth. "That's a good one. That was good, that was reallygood."

"She thinks they…represent Team Rocket!" his companion added. They continued to laugh, clearly amused with something neither May nor Todd understood.

"But seriously," the blonde continued, composing himself. "If you've only met those three, you don't know a thing about the real Team Rocket."

"What do you mean?" May demanded, narrowing her eyes. She glanced back at her Pokémon momentarily, signalling that they should be ready to pick up the fight at a moment's notice. Todd balled up his fists, forcing himself to stop shaking.

"Well, first of all, if you'd listened to our motto – which I think we performed exceptionally well this evening – you'd know that I'm Rosencrantz and this guy's Guildenstern." He spoke condescendingly, in the tone one would use in explaining something to a young child.

"Definitely," his companion agreed, nodding. "Best one yet, bro. We're going down in history."

"You know it!"

"Gil and who now?" said May. This was getting weirder and weirder. Whoever they were, they were still a couple of sick freaks, almost as bad as the Team Rocket agents who'd followed her before. May shuddered. That was a scary thought.

"Rosen and Guild's fine." The blonde Rocket grabbed a Pokéball from the belt at his waist and enlarged it. "As I was saying, Jessie, James, and Meowth are an embarrassment to our organization. I don't even know how they got in to begin with." He grinned sneakily upon seeing the shock on May's face. "They're the worst of the worst."

"Even their motto sucks," said Guild, enlarging a Pokéball of his own.

"Yeah, but everyone's motto sucks compared to ours."

"Point." Guild nodded, and the Rocket duo faced May and Todd again.

"Are you sit there and stroke your egos all day, or are you going to battle?" May challenged. These two might be better battlers than the other Team Rocket crew, but who wasn't? Even though she was a Coordinator, she could hold her own in battle.

"The day's gone, I'm afraid," Rosen quipped. "But the night's still young, and there's plenty of fun to be had. Let's go, Golbat!" The ubiquitous Bat Pokémon emerged from his Pokéball, its body mostly a gaping mouth with two sharp fangs at the top and bottom that dwarfed its tiny mouth, ears, and feet. Its only other feature of note was a pair of wide, purple wings.

"You too, Magneton!" Guild followed suit with his own Pokémon, which resembled three metal spheres mashed together with an eye in the middle of each. Attached to each sphere were a couple screws and U-shaped magnets sticking out at odd angles. _"Magneton," _it said in a metallic alto, the ends of its magnets crackling with blue electricity.

The Rockets immediately went on the offensive as the battle resumed with all Trainers out in the open. "Houndoom, switch places with Arbok!" Rosen ordered. "Take on the Blaziken!"

"Arbok, support Golbat!" Guild said in turn.

Houndoom leapt away from Todd, firing a Flamethrower at Eevee, who dodged. May's other Pokémon moved in, but this was the opening Houndoom needed to leap by them and rush at Blaziken. May's starter made a swipe at Arbok, but missed as the snake dug underground again. Blaziken didn't try to follow it, instead blocking the oncoming Houndoom from reaching Bulbasaur. The squat, four-legged Grass-type would be especially vulnerable to Houndoom's flames, and May felt it best to have her defend against Magneton's electricity.

"You guys did something to get Brendan away from us, didn't you?" Todd suddenly yelled over the din, glaring at the Rockets. Golbat made a token pass at him, but in another fit of bravery, he pushed the large bat away. Angered at his insolence, it spun around and made to attack again before May ordered Beautifly to use Psychic to hold it in place. Todd breathed a sigh of relief as Munchlax straddled over and shielded him from his winged pursuer. The round dark green Pokémon had a voracious appetite, but was a strong and capable fighter.

Giving herself that window of opportunity to gather her thoughts, May reasoned that what Todd said made sense. Of course. Brendan wasn't the type to just abandon them. That he hadn't come back by now spoke volumes. Whatever happened to him, it was more than likely that Team Rocket was responsible.

Guild chuckled, instantly confirming their suspicions. "So Brendan's his name, eh?" he said. "Well, it was Team Rocket's work, I'll say that much, but it wasn't us. _Arbok, now!"_

The thought of them harming her friend infuriated May, and she and Todd directed withering glares at Rosen and Guild. At that moment, Arbok burst out of the ground again in a column of shiny purple scales and a mighty hiss, striking with its jaws at a startled Squirtle with inhuman speed.

"Water Gun!" May cried. Squirtle recovered quickly from his shock, whirling around and giving Arbok a face full of water. The snake made a trilling noise, its hiss muffled. "Now Rapid Spin! Eevee, help Squirtle out with Shadow Ball!" The Evolution Pokémon, caught in the middle between Arbok and Magneton, fired a ball of sinister dark energy which hit the snake in the side. But Arbok let Squirtle's Rapid Spin slide right off it.

"If you guys didn't lead Brendan away, who did?" Todd demanded as the melee continued. Beautifly struggled to maintain her Psychic hold on Golbat.

"Leading your little friend on a wild Hoothoot chase was _her_ work," Rosen said ominously, a sinister expression forming on his face.

"What do you mean?" Todd stammered. A loud thud came from the other side of the clearing as Blaziken pinned Houndoom to the ground.

Guild laughed. "Team Rocket's going to get itself a big, strong Swampert tonight, that's for sure. She probably already has it."

"Shut up!" May clenched her hands into fists. "I don't know what you freaks did to Brendan, but he won't get beaten by the likes of you! Munchlax, use Take Down on Golbat!"

Before Munchlax could even move, Guild roared, "Thunderbolt!"

Magneton, who had been hovering motionlessly, suddenly released a thick strand of blue electricity. The Thunderbolt set Beautifly alight, the Butterfly Pokémon letting out a quavering screech as thousands of volts coursed through her body. May had been so focused on holding Arbok back that she hadn't even paid any attention to Magneton. "No!" she exclaimed as her Pokémon cried out in pain. No longer immobilized by Beautifly's Psychic, Golbat swooped down on Todd. The photographer defended himself by shining the flashlight May had given him in Golbat's face.

But it didn't matter. For the second time that day, Todd was knocked to the ground by a Pokémon nearly as large as he was, and this one didn't seem nearly as controlled in its appetite as the last.

"Todd!" May cried, her eyes darting back and forth between her friend and Beautifly, the latter of which fell to the ground softly as the electric attack depleted her stamina. Meanwhile, Todd whimpered as Golbat released a long, pink tongue from its mouth and licked his neck almost affectionately. "N-no…!" he stammered, his voice an octave higher than usual. "Don't-" He gasped and went deathly still as Golbat's tongue brushed against his ear, his mouth opening and closing silently in abject terror.

Thankfully, Todd was spared any further abuse when Munchlax leapt onto Golbat's back as per May's order. He rolled aside just in time to avoid being flattened, taking deep breaths as he eyed Golbat warily. The bat's wings flapped furiously as it tried to force off its much heavier opponent.

"Keep Golbat down, Munchlax," May ordered. "Todd…are you okay?"

He gulped. "I think so," he said, his eyes downcast as he wiped off the trail of slime Golbat had left on his neck. "I thought that Golbat was going to…" His voice trailed off as he mouthed the words 'eat me.'

May gave Todd a sympathetic look before glaring at the Rocket duo. "You'll be sorry you messed with us," she warned. "I'll beat you, and when we find Brendan-"

"I wouldn't count on your friend being any help," Guild sneered, looking down his aquiline nose at her. "Even if he does find his way back here, all your Pokémon will be ours by then."

"She's good at what she does," Rosen agreed. "Even better than we are."

"She still doesn't have a cool motto, though."

Rosen laughed. "I don't think she even talks unless it's a life-or-death situation. You ever talk to her, Guild?"

"Can't say that I have, Rosen."

She'd had it up to here with their self-assured attitude. The thought of these people harming Brendan and Todd filled May with an anger she'd seldom felt. "I won't let you hurt my friends!" she declared, voice quavering slightly. "And we'll never give up our Pokémon to you!"

"You already are, bit by bit," Guild said tauntingly. "Let's finish the job, Magneton."

May assessed the situation in front of them. Houndoom and Blaziken were still going at it strong. Squirtle and Eevee were proving to be a handful for Arbok, who was still chafing from the Blaze Kick Blaziken had dealt it. Bulbasaur and Magneton faced each other as they prepared to battle, while Golbat still squirmed beneath Munchlax's weight.

She narrowed her eyes. "Let's," she said.

* * *

"Come on, Murkrow, it's got to be around here somewhere!"

Murkrow only cawed weakly in response to Brendan's assertion. They made their way deeper into the forest, searching for whatever was making that hooting noise. Just when he thought they'd caught up to it, there was a flutter of wings and the hooting would grow fainter. It was like the Pokémon was taunting him with that knowing _"Hoot-HOOT,"_ the first syllable soft and the second more emphatic. Well, he'd capture it, and then it'd see who was the smarter of the two. The smug thought gave Brendan pleasure.

"Can you see anything from up there, buddy?" he with a glance at Murkrow, who had landed on a branch. The Darkness Pokémon was only visible by the light of its eyes, which glowed a sombre red. Murkrow cawed softly, and Brendan shook his head.

"Damn. But I can hear it! It's right over there." He pointed to an ordinary-looking spot in the trees as he moved in close, his steps slower and more deliberate as he attempted to catch his quarry by surprise.

Murkrow made a questioning noise, to which Brendan responded with an adamant shush. "You'll scare it away!" he whispered. "Come on, just a little closer now."

The Hoenn boy stopped, a confused look on his face. Whereas before, the Pokémon would take flight and hoot mockingly upon another successful escape, this time, the hooting just stopped. He stood silently for a few moments before saying, "That's weird. I could've sworn it was right there." Murkrow just warbled in reply.

He sighed. "Let's go back to camp," he continued, a tone of resignation in his voice. With a wistful sigh, he turned back. They couldn't have gotten too far. He could remember the path he'd taken to get here, and when in doubt, he could always have Murkrow fly up and find the way back. "Man, I can't believe I ditched May and Todd like that." Guilt aside, he felt odd somehow, out of touch with his surroundings. He was probably just tired from walking all day, but he'd never been _this_ tired.

"Need to get back…get some sleep," he mumbled as Murkrow flew down onto his shoulder. He petted his Pokémon softly on the head and smiled, Murkrow warbling softly in response.

Brendan kept trudging on, each step becoming heavier as exhaustion set in. "Shouldn't be too long now," he said, leaning against a tree and scouting out the path ahead with his flashlight. He thought he could faintly glimpse their campsite between the trees in the beam of light. Since when did his flashlight start acting up, though? Rather than a straight beam, the light seemed to be patchy. It probably needed a new battery. Or maybe it was just the forest itself. He knew from countless treks through Hoenn jungles that the darkness tended to melt everything together in heavily treed areas like this.

But then, why had everything seemed clearer earlier that night? The edges of the trees had been sharper, more distinct. It felt like everything was muffled and blurry now. Even Murkrow's cries seemed to come from far away. What could he be cawing about, anyway?

"Murkrow," said Brendan, his eyelids drooping. He couldn't stay awake any longer. The tree to his left looked so inviting. May and Todd would understand if he slept there, resting his back against the bark. Wouldn't they? That is, if Murkrow let him sleep in the first place with the racket he was making. He slid down the tree on his back, barely noticing as the rough bark scratched him. Sleep was all that mattered now. He tilted his head to one side-

He never saw the figure in front of him approaching, never even heard it. All he could do was let out a soft gasp as he stared into the unnatural yellow face that gazed upon him under its long, beaklike nose. The last thing he saw before his eyes shut was the swing of a thin, silvery pendulum, another figure approaching in the background…

* * *

**A/N: It's been a while since the last release of IAWNW, and I'm thrilled to be publishing again. The outline for this story's gone through another upheaval lately - or should I say, going through another upheaval, as I'm still sorting out the details for the next ten or twenty chapters. I'm aiming to have the whole story written by the end of 2013, after which I'd just need to edit each chapter to make it presentable. As always, a big thanks goes to my beta, Six String Bard, whose talents in this field are infinitely superior to mine. Read his stories if you haven't already! Thanks also goes to the good folks at the RLt, TiNa, and my tumblr blog for being the best friends I could ever ask for.**


	10. The New Face of Team Rocket

**Chapter 10: The New Face of Team Rocket**

"Blaziken, can you handle Houndoom on your own?"

May's starter responded with an affirmative grunt to her question and dodged Houndoom's lunge.

"Houndoom's part-Dark, so use lots of Fighting attacks," she said. She focused on Arbok then, who had just injured Eevee with a menacing Bite. The furry Evolution Pokémon struggled to get back up, but Squirtle was quick to defend her by keeping their slithering opponent away with Rapid Spin. Arbok was forced to shift to one side. Guild ordered it underground again.

"Magneton, Lock On to Munchlax!" the auburn-haired Rocket said, following up on his previous order. "I got your back, Rosen."

"Or Golbat's back, as the case may be," his blonde companion said airily, as though the battle was simply a matter of routine. "Houndoom, give us a taste of your Faint Attack." The large black dog suddenly vanished, melting into the surrounding shadows.

"This isn't good!" said Todd, keeping a watchful eye on the battle. May agreed. Two of the enemy's Pokémon were now invisible to the naked eye. One of them was likely to help Golbat in case whatever attack Magneton was preparing didn't move Munchlax. For its part, Golbat still squirmed as it tried to break free of Munchlax's hold on it. But Munchlax weighed almost twice as much, and wouldn't budge easily. May reasoned that Magneton wouldn't use an Electric attack, not unless it wanted to fry Golbat in the process as well. Then again, this was Team Rocket. They probably cared nothing for their Pokémon's well-being, as long as they benefitted from their strategy at the end of it. The Magnet Pokémon stayed motionless, its three lidless eyes trained on its foe.

"May, have Squirtle and Eevee get in closer," Todd suggested. "And have Bulbasaur use Leech Seed on Magneton."

Before May could respond, though, the Rocket duo sprung their trap. "Mirror Shot!" Guild ordered. "Arbok, time for the finishing blow!"

"Houndoom!" Rosen shouted.

May had Squirtle use Ice Beam to block the silvery blast of energy that Magneton unleashed, but the Mirror Shot was too fast and whizzed past the icy tendrils that Squirtle directed at it. The Lock on already homed in on Munchlax, Magneton's follow-up attack knocked the Big Eater down. Golbat immediately took to the air again. At that moment, Houndoom reappeared, but not to protect Golbat. The Dark Pokémon instead sent Eevee sprawling back to the ground with a thrust of its paws. Finally, Arbok rose out of the ground, knocking the poor Evolution Pokémon unconscious as its head slammed into her side.

"Eevee!" May cried. She took deep breaths as she recalled her Pokémon. They were evenly matched now, her four Pokémon against their four. And the Rockets' Pokémon were a lot stronger.

Still, she refused to give up. Rosen and Guild might be able to pull off powerful combination moves, but as a Coordinator, May knew she could do the same. It was time to try out Todd's idea. Todd himself gave her a firm nod, standing back but ready to do whatever he could if needed.

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed on Magneton!" she ordered. With a growl, Bulbasaur opened the green bulb on her back and fired a volley of seeds. Magneton glided aside in an attempt to dodge, but the seeds stuck to it as though pulled in by its magnetism. Upon contact, they surrounded the Magnet in green, leafy vines that sapped the energy from its body.

"Now, Blaziken, hit Magneton with a Blaze Kick!" May said, keeping up the offensive. "Squirtle, it'll be up to you and Bulbasaur to take on Houndoom and Arbok for now." The small turtle replied with a firm _"Squirtle."_ "Munchlax…" May hesitated, but this was the best she could do for now. "You're up against Golbat."

The key right now was to take out Magneton before it could do more damage with its Lock On, and make sure the Rockets' other Pokémon were too distracted to help it. The Magnet was already writhing from Leech Seed, releasing bursts of blue electricity as the vines chipped away at its stamina. It dodged Blaziken's Blaze Kick, but only by a hair.

"Dig again, Arbok!" Guild ordered, his teeth showing in a cruel smile.

"Not this time!" May declared. "Squirtle, follow Arbok and hit it with a Water Gun!" Squirtle did exactly that, diving into the hole Arbok dug. A second later, a geyser shot out of the hole with Squirtle lying facedown on top. But the snake was quick, returning to the surface before Water Gun could do much damage. It coiled around, its scales glistening wet, and darted at Squirtle.

Now was their chance. "Ice Beam!" May yelled. Arbok slithered to one side to dodge the tendrils of cold energy that Squirtle released from his mouth, but it was too slow. Ice Beam caught it on the side, right where it had been hit by Blaziken earlier. The water still on Arbok's body made it freeze that much faster. Soon, the snake was completely immobilized in a thin layer of ice.

"Houndoom, thaw Arbok out," Rosen ordered casually. The Dark Pokémon shifted its focus from Bulbasaur and rushed to Arbok's side with a Fire Fang prepared.

But May had expected that. "Squirtle, keep it away with Water Gun!"

"Magneton, Thunderbolt on Squirtle!" said Guild. "Please. I can see through all your moves…May, was it? You know, I think I saw you on TV a couple-"

"Blaze Kick!" May shouted.

Magneton loosed its Thunderbolt just a fraction of a second too late. Blaziken slammed a thick, fiery leg into the Magnet, causing the latter's attack to fly off the mark. Squirtle fired another jet of water after ducking to avoid the jolt of electricity that flew his way. Houndoom stopped in its tracks before Squirtle's attack, deftly sidestepping so as to reach its target from another angle. But at another order from May, Bulbasaur had her vines around the Dark Pokémon's torso and held it from behind as it struggled.

"Now…" May's heart pounded as she delivered the coup de grace, pleased to note the shocked expressions on the Rockets' faces. "Blaziken, use Flamethrower, and Squirtle, use Rapid Spin!" Magneton vanished for an instant behind a stream of red-hot flames while Squirtle slammed his spinning body into the frozen Arbok. Both of Guild's Pokémon fainted, overcome by the strength – or rather, the strategy – arrayed against them at last.

"But-but this wasn't supposed to happen!" Guild sputtered. He recalled both his fallen battlers and placed the Pokéballs on a clip on his upper arm.

"I _told_ you we should've brought more than two Pokémon each," his partner lectured.

"Oh, that's nice. Just yell it out for everyone and their mother to hear. How was I supposed to know a bunch of kids would give us this much trouble? I thought if we just brought our two strongest each-"

"_Now_ who's the one spilling-"

"So, those are all the Pokémon you had in the first place?" May interrupted. Blaziken watched as Houndoom still squirmed in Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, ready to strike should the Dark Pokémon break free. Squirtle panted heavily, preparing to assist either side. Finally, Munchlax stared up defiantly at Golbat.

"And they're all the Pokémon we'll need." Rosen smiled. "Golbat, show 'em your Confuse Ray! Houndoom, Faint Attack to get out of the way."

"Stop it with Focus Punch, Munchlax!" May ordered. If Rosen planned on having Golbat hit all of her Pokémon with Confuse Ray, she was in trouble. She could always recall and send her Pokémon back out, but if she was caught without a Pokémon while Houndoom and Golbat were still free, they could easily turn on her and Todd. She wouldn't put it past the Rockets to try something so underhanded.

Golbat was much faster than Munchlax. With a flap of its leathery wings, it dodged its opponent's glowing fist and emitted a thick ray from its mouth that twisted with psychedelic colours. A simple twist of the bat's head, and Blaziken, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle were all caught in Confuse Ray's strobe. All except for Houndoom, who used Faint Attack to break free of Bulbasaur's Vine Whip and reappear behind his Trainer, who smiled triumphantly.

May looked on in consternation. Three of her Pokémon were utterly disoriented: Todd had to dodge a rogue Vine Whip from Bulbasaur, while Blaziken bashed his fists into the ground and Squirtle simply jerked uncontrollably. That was the thing with confusion. It made a Pokémon completely unpredictable. At least Munchlax was still lucid, being behind Golbat when the latter had emitted its Confuse Ray.

Rosen had noticed this as well and wasn't going to let it go. "Finish it with Poison Fang!" he ordered Golbat, pointing at Munchlax dramatically. "Her other Pokémon will take care of themselves. Houndoom, follow up with Crunch if it doesn't faint."

May was about to recall her Pokémon when Bulbasaur's Vine Whip suddenly latched onto Golbat's wings. The Bat Pokémon jerked, its descent abruptly halted. Munchlax flinched, anticipating the attack that never hit and opening his eyes just in time to see Houndoom bounding in from the side.

In that moment, May decided it was the perfect time to test the new move Munchlax had practiced with Brendan's Pokémon. "Brick Break!" she yelled.

Houndoom had its open maw a hair's breadth away from Munchlax's face when it met with the side of a tensed, glowing arm. Munchlax's Brick Break struck it right in the nozzle, a sickening crunch making both May and Rosen wince. Both Pokémon were thrown back, but Houndoom clearly got the worst of it, landing in a heap at Rosen's feet with blood pouring from its mouth. Despite belonging to a Team Rocket member, May felt a sharp pang of sympathy for the Dark Pokémon, one which only got worse as she saw the pained expression forming on Rosen's face. Perhaps even some Rockets saw their Pokémon as friends rather than tools.

"H-Houndoom…" he stammered. "I'm sorry. I'll get you fixed up as soon as I can." He turned furious blue eyes on May. "Soon as we beat this little Hoenn shit and take her Pokémon. Heh…that's a strong Munchlax, May. Arianna will give us a huge bonus once we bring it to her."

May didn't know who Arianna was, nor did she care. She returned Rosen's glare with interest and recalled Blaziken and Squirtle before they could torture themselves into unconsciousness. "Don't count on it," she said.

"Golbat, Mean Look!"

Golbat's eyes flashed red upon Rosen's command. Bulbasaur, who still held onto her foe's wings with Vine Whip, winced. This released enough pressure for the bat to free itself, upon which Rosen yelled, "Air Slash!" A translucent blade of air sliced into Bulbasaur's forehead before May could utter a syllable. She and Munchlax could only watch helplessly as the powerful Flying-type attack took out Bulbasaur instantly.

It was one-on-one now, but May wouldn't send in either Blaziken or Squirtle. Munchlax would suffice. "Get ready!" she warned.

"Mean Look again!" ordered Rosen with a swipe of his arm, clearly expecting that May would try to sub in one of her other Pokémon. There wasn't anything Munchlax could do but take the hit. The Big Eater Pokémon faced Mean Look with equal determination.

"Tackle!" said May. Munchlax leapt into the air and landed with an earth-shaking thud as Golbat dodged lazily. The bat clearly had the speed advantage, but good strategy would negate that.

"Defense Curl!" Upon May's command, Munchlax curled himself into a tight ball of green fur, scrunching up his ears and pulling his limbs close to his body. That's the way, she thought. If Munchlax stayed motionless in that position, they could draw Golbat in and attack at the appropriate moment.

Rosen, though, continued to battle at long range. "Confuse Ray again, Golbat!" he snarled. Golbat emitted another beam of fell energy which caused Munchlax to relax his tightened stance when it hit him. "We didn't get it last time, but that's all changed now." May recoiled at the gleam of demented anger in Rosen's eyes.

"Munchlax!" May cried. "Hang in there!" The way Rosen looked like now, she wouldn't be surprised if he planned on exacting a vengeance equal to the damage Munchlax had caused Houndoom.

"He can't hear you!" Rosen said in a singsong voice. "Golbat, slice that lump of flesh with an Air Slash!"

"Metronome!" In the spur of a moment, May yelled out the first attack that came to mind. There was a one in a million chance of it working, not even taking into account Munchlax's confusion, and yet…

The first blade of concentrated air missed Munchlax altogether as the Big Eater literally flopped out of the way and made a minor tremor upon landing. The next flop allowed him to jump over the second Air Slash, which only grazed the fur on his belly. Golbat flapped its wings together weakly one last time, likely puzzled by its opponent's behaviour. While this blast caught Munchlax right in the chest, it was so weak that he barely noticed it as he continued to bounce around like a Magikarp out of water.

"I can't believe it," May murmured, staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of her and wondering how she'd come across such a bizarre stroke of luck. Even Rosen had been left speechless, his mouth agape.

"That was just embarrassing," Guild commented. "No offense, bro, but Golbat got outsmarted by a Splash attack." His wisecrack was ignored.

"Splash…" May couldn't believe it herself. "Of the hundreds of known attacks, he ended up using Splash. And it worked!" She glanced at Todd.

"But maybe that was just a side effect of Munchlax's confusion," the photographer said uncertainly. "We didn't actually see him use Metronome, did we?"

"I guess…" May shrugged. Todd had a point in that Munchlax hadn't performed the telltale action of waving his fingers back and forth before dodging Golbat's attacks.

Whatever had happened, the confusion wore off after Munchlax's spectacle, and the Big Eater rose to his feet after his last flop landed him flat on his face.

"Another Air Slash!" Rosen ordered. "Couple more hits should do it." He stared at May with that demented smile again. "You got lucky once, dear, but it's not going to happen again."

"Rollout!" May retaliated. If Golbat wasn't going to walk up to Munchlax, they would have to force it to get close. Munchlax leapt into a roll that turned his body into a blurring green sphere, dodging the scythe of air that was aimed at him. Predictably, Golbat stayed in place, watching its opponent roll by.

"That tired old tactic?" Rosen rolled his eyes. "This'll be easier than I thought. Confuse Ray, Golbat, and make it extra strong!" Golbat exhaled its rainbow ray for the third time that night, swinging it around like a beacon so as to give May's Pokémon no quarter.

"Now!" May shouted. Munchlax abruptly stopped mid-roll and dug his feet into the ground, building momentum to spring into the air and dodge his opponent's move by a hair's breadth. Rosen made a surprised noise, his jaws clenched together.

"No matter," he snarled. "Aerial Ace, while it's defenceless!" His voice rose in pitch, and May noted with pleasure that she'd finally made him worry. In a flash of blue, Golbat spun in the air and wheeled down in an attempt to strike Munchlax from above.

"Focus Punch!" Munchlax steeled itself, his fist beginning to glow as he gathered all his energy for this final attack.

A split second later, before May could even worry that Munchlax wouldn't bring up his fist in time, the two attacks collided with a dull thud. There was no horrible crunching sound like when Munchlax chopped Houndoom's face, but it still hit Golbat hard. Munchlax landed on the ground and panted heavily, his breathing laboured. Golbat turned around slowly and hovered close to the ground with broad, tired flaps, barely able to stay airborne. The two Pokémon looked each other in the eye, neither willing to give in.

Both May and Rosen were ready to call out attacks when their Pokémon collapsed simultaneously, sending up clouds of dust as their bodies hit the ground. "Munchlax," May whispered as she recalled the fourth of her fallen Pokémon. It had been a difficult battle, all the worse since they'd been ambushed, but they'd won in the end.

"Well, I guess we need to beat it now," said Guild nonchalantly, leaning comfortably against a tree as though nothing had happened. He walked up to the other Rocket and shook him. "Hey. Bro."

After Rosen had recalled Golbat, he'd simply stood in place as though refusing to believe his Pokémon had been defeated. He nodded when Guild shook him, then produced a small metallic sphere from the clip on his arm.

"They have more Pokémon?" Todd exclaimed. "Wait…" He recoiled. "May!" he roared suddenly. "Let's get out of here!"

He sounded so terrified that May didn't question his judgement. She ran with Todd and her Pokémon as far as they could into the woods, Rosen's dry chuckle the only thing they heard before a blinding light filled their world, so intense that they could feel it in their other senses as well. In the near complete darkness, the flash bomb was all the more effective.

When she opened her eyes again after squeezing them shut, she was terrified for a moment that she'd gone blind. She felt as though the searing brightness had been permanently branded onto her retinas. In a panic, she flailed her arms around, looking for support. Her elbow bumped against something which let out a surprised "Ow!"

"Sorry, Todd," she said in between heavy breaths. Her vision was slowly returning to her, though she would have preferred it without the dancing spots in her eyes. Eventually, the forms of Todd, Blaziken, and Squirtle resolved themselves in the darkness, and the four of them came together to decide what to do next.

"We need to call Officer Jenny," said Todd. "She can help us find Brendan."

"Good idea," May agreed. She sighed as they made their way back to the camp. Thankfully, they hadn't run too far, as she could still make out the clearing where their tent lay. "But let's also try to find him ourselves."

He gave her a pointed look. "In this?" he said, waving an arm to indicate the seemingly endless forest. "That'll be hard enough as it is without Team Rocket lurking. What if we run across…I don't know, their base, and they capture us and take your Pokémon?"

"They're really that big of an organization?" More and more, what Rosen and Guild had been saying made sense. Though she hardly knew anything about them, May reasoned that they must have been an organization at least the size of Teams Aqua and Magma. If that was the case, then she and Todd were in way over their heads.

They stepped back into the clearing. "I thought it was a little weird when you said you'd only met Jessie, James, and Meowth," said Todd. "Don't tell me they were still after Ash's Pikachu." May made an affirmative noise, and Todd snorted. "Never give it a rest, do they?" he continued scornfully.

"Ash and Brock told me they'd been chasing after Pikachu for the past five years."

"Talk about persistent."

They sat down on the log in front of the fireplace where, just half an hour ago, they'd been telling silly stories and laughing. In the darkness, after Team Rocket's attack, their cozy little spot seemed a lot more sinister.

Todd opened up his PokéNav and was about to call Officer Jenny when they heard it: faint at first but drawing closer, a frantic cawing sound. Coming at them from the woods was a pair of bright red lights. They stood up, preparing to face whatever it was, and the lights gradually resolved themselves into the eyes of a small avian frame.

"Murkrow!" Todd cried with relief as the little black bird flew into the clearing and nearly clipped its wing in a branch. Murkrow stopped in front of them, hovering and cawing incessantly while gesturing with his beak.

"Easy, Murkrow," said May, petting the bird softly on the head. Then, she figured it out. "You know where Brendan is!"

_"Krowmurkrow!"_ Murkrow made an affirmative noise.

"Is he okay?" asked Todd. Murkrow warbled softly, then wheeled around and pointed with his beak again.

"Brendan," May murmured softly. "Let's follow Murkrow, Todd."

"I still think we should call the cops first," said Todd."I don't want to take any chances."

"There's no time!" May insisted. "The sooner we get going, the sooner we find Brendan. If we find out he's in trouble, then we can call Officer Jenny."

"I…" Todd began to protest. "Okay. Lead the way, Murkrow."

* * *

Brendan's Pokémon led them all out of the smoke, which had cleared once they were a fair distance away from the campground. They walked for at least ten minutes in the cavernous forest, weaving their way through low-hanging branches with sharp needles. More than once, they'd nearly gotten their eyes poked out by a branch emerging at an odd angle, which would not have been unlikely without their flashlights to provide some light. After the flash bomb, this light seemed unnaturally dim in comparison.

"How desperate was Brendan to go running after a Pokémon through this?" May griped, pushing a branch aside while carefully stepping over a thick tree root right underneath it.

"Not desperate," said Todd. He looked ahead to see where Murkrow was leading them, following the trail of the Darkness Pokémon's red eyes. "Hypnotized, most likely. Team Rocket must have another agent somewhere." He shuddered. "Oh, no…what if that agent's still here, watching us?"

"Don't say things like that!" May squealed. "This place is scary enough as it is!"

"Sorry. It's just… we don't really know anything about the rest of Team Rocket. Their real agents, not Jessie, James, and Meowth." Todd leaned against a tree to catch his breath, while Murkrow perched on a nearby branch higher up, clearly having the same idea.

"And hopefully, we never find out. I've met more than enough Rockets in this lifetime." May adjusted her bandanna, which had nearly fallen off during their trek through the woods.

Neither of them said anything for a bit, and then Todd spoke again: "What if Rosen and Guild were part of the group that stole the Pokémon from New Bark University?"

That made sense. Why else would Team Rocket be so close to New Bark Town? As everyone had suspected, they had probably stolen all the Pokémon last night and probably had a base nearby where they were storing their catch. May frowned. They weren't just dealing with petty thieves. They were up against professional criminals, people who wouldn't hesitate to use any means to keep troublemakers from interfering with their plans.

"We better find Brendan, and quickly," said May. She sighed. "Look at what we've gotten mixed up in now."

"The risks of being a Pokémon Trainer," Todd answered.

May chuckled. "I'll bet Brendan wouldn't see it that way. He'll probably want to take on Team Rocket himself." Indeed, it seemed that most male Trainers her age felt the need to take on much more powerful opponents – an entire criminal underworld in this case – that they couldn't hope to defeat on their own. In any case, her remark got a smile from Todd. Now there was a boy who didn't fit the mould: he was logical, sensible, and knew his limits. He could be a little too reserved at times, but as far as May was concerned, his heart was in the right place. Still, wasn't there something to be said for the passion Trainers like Ash and Brendan showed? May fervently hoped Brendan was safe.

They picked up the pace, walking in silence for another ten minutes. The trees began to thin out and soon, they came to the edge of another clearing, this one naturally formed. Murkrow began cawing excitedly once again. There was no mistaking why, and May and Todd hurried through the trees to catch up with the Darkness Pokémon. Murkrow had landed on what looked to be a dark lump and was pecking at it furiously.

May and Todd gave a start when the lump moved and let out a pained groan.

"Brendan!" May exclaimed. Sure enough, there he was, spiky hood and all. May felt a weight lift off her chest as her worst fear, that Team Rocket may have kidnapped him, vanished.

Brendan muttered incoherently, his eyes fastened shut. He tried to shoo Murkrow away by swatting him with his arm, but Murkrow was having none of it.

"You have to get up, man," said Todd softly. He pulled Brendan to his feet, the other responding with a murmur of thanks. The Hoenn boy rubbed his eyes and stretched while Murkrow landed on his shoulder. With a final stretch of his arms, Brendan suddenly turned and made to walk away. He only briefly turned to his friends to say a brusque "Let's go" before stepping out into the clearing.

They merely stared at him. "Go where?" said May, taken aback by Brendan's odd behaviour. His cheery, friendly disposition had totally changed now. "Our camp's back through the forest-" She paused abruptly as her eyes landed on Brendan's waist, around which he'd normally strapped his Pokéballs, and suddenly remembered Rosen and Guild's taunts about Team Rocket getting themselves a Swampert tonight.

The strap was gone.

"Oh, no. Brendan, I'm so sorry." May approached and extended an arm to touch him on the shoulder, but he whirled around so quickly that it frightened her and she stopped. His face was a mask of anguish and rage, ruby eyes glistening as he struggled to hold back tears.

"She took my Pokémon," Brendan enunciated every word. "She took my friends! Go back to camp if you want. But Murkrow and I are going to go find her." He whirled around and marched off.

May and Todd glanced at each other, and May remembered something else. Rosen and Guild had said _she_ was dealing with Brendan.

"We're going with you," said May without a moment's hesitation.

Brendan stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at her again, the harshness in his face softening. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "F-for running off. She did it, she and her Hypno."

"Hypnosis," said Todd. "I thought so. That's what they meant."

It was Brendan's turn to be puzzled. He blinked at Todd without saying a word.

"We're dealing with Team Rocket here," Todd explained. "This was all part of their plan…"

* * *

Brendan forced himself to keep his emotions from boiling over. He was furious at Team Rocket for taking his friends. Furious at _her_, in particular, furious and bitter. But it wouldn't do him any good to let that distract him. Initially, May and Todd wanted to get the authorities involved. Brendan dismissed that idea out of hand: they'd take too long to get here, and if they did, what could they do except what he and his friends were doing now, which was to search everywhere for Team Rocket's base?

And search, they did. Brendan had to commend Murkrow for his ingenuity. The Darkness Pokémon had had the good sense to hide when Hypno and its Trainer hypnotized Brendan, after which he'd followed her for a bit before going back to May and Todd. At least, that's how Brendan explained it when Murkrow took the lead and guided them through the depths of the forest. After a few minutes' walk, the Darkness Pokémon cawed loudly.

"We're getting close, aren't we?" Brendan whispered to Murkrow when the Pokémon landed on his shoulder. Murkrow pecked him softly on the side of the head and Brendan nodded. "Thanks, buddy. Just keep it down now, though, since we're closing in on the enemy." Behind him, May and Todd tried not to make too much noise as they breathed heavily, their trek through the forest taking its toll.

They walked for what seemed like another eternity before coming to another clearing. Unlike the campground, this one was much smaller and appeared to have been created recently. Tree stumps covered the ground, so fresh that the smell of cut pine and spruce wafted on the air. The surrounding forest still bore scars attesting to the recent and rather poorly enacted logging operation, with huge gashes created by felled trees cutting into the greenery. Mounds of earth dotted the clearing, suggesting that a fair amount of excavation had followed the logging.

"Here we are," said Brendan. He raised his voice to a normal volume. If there was anyone hiding in the shadows, they would definitely have heard the group approach, as well as seen the light from their flashlights. For the moment, the site in front of them was empty.

Of course, appearances could be deceiving.

"May, get Blaziken and Squirtle ready in case we're ambushed," he said. "Todd, don't bring Mankey out, okay? I don't want him getting injured again."

"I won't let him out," Todd replied. He'd sprayed a Super Potion on Mankey earlier, before they returned to the forest. "Whether he decides to leave his Pokéball on his own is another matter."

Brendan let that slide. There were more important things to worry about now, chief among them getting his own Pokémon back. He aimed his flashlight at the ground and examined it closely under the white halogen light.

"Stay back," he warned, holding up a hand. He squatted, keeping an eye on the ground as he moved his flashlight gently across the rough border between the clearing and the forest behind them. "Teams Aqua and Magma often put trip wires around their bases to warn them when someone was approaching their base. Julian and I got caught by Team Magma that way the first time we ran into them on Dewford."

"How did you escape?" asked May.

Brendan exhaled sharply. "We had to be rescued," he said, the humiliating memory stinging, even after all this time. "Brawly and his disciples stormed the base with the help of a few Jennies and sent Magma packing. Since then, we vowed we wouldn't give those scum a moment's peace."

He paused, standing up. "All clear. Let's go."

They stepped into the artificial glade, their sneakers making crunching noises as they trampled over a carpet of brown needles. Signs of recent use were clearer up close – particularly the hillocks of dirt, which had likely been dug up from the ground nearby – but Team Rocket had done a thorough job cleaning up after themselves. Nothing, not even an abandoned chainsaw, remained to provide direct evidence of their presence here.

"So I guess now, we look around," said May, not sounding particularly enthusiastic about the prospect. Brendan had already taken the initiative, scanning every inch of his flashlight over the nearest dirt mound.

"Nothing over here," he called from the top of the mound. May and Todd searched another mound to the right, also finding nothing.

"My Pokémon can help," May decided, releasing Blaziken and Squirtle again. The two Pokémon appeared worse for wear after their strenuous battle, but they didn't voice any objection to helping with the search. Though he was still angry over the loss of his own Pokémon, Brendan was quite grateful for their help.

"Thanks, May," he said with a hint of a smile. May gave him a sympathetic look, and went back to examining a particularly pointy mound in the centre of the clearing. Todd climbed down from on top of it and shook his head.

"Murkrow, do you remember where they went?" Brendan said to his Pokémon as May and Todd split up to cover more ground. Murkrow only cawed weakly in response, his talons digging into Brendan's skin as he took flight and hovered around the centre of the clearing. Brendan sighed and continued his search silently.

"Nothing around these mounds," said Todd on the other side. He aimed his flashlight so that the beam traced a scar of broken, twisted branches in the forest, then followed it down to the base, where the bark on one side of a tree had been sheared off. "Thought I'd found something here, but…" His voice trailed off.

"Nothing in the centre, either," said May, making her way around a group of closely packed tree stumps. She stamped on the ground. "Maybe there's…" –she stamped again, furiously– "a hidden entrance around here…somewhere." She hung her head low, giving up.

The three humans and Murkrow gathered together in the centre after a thorough search yielded nothing. They'd looked on the ground, checked every tree stump, and had Squirtle use Water Gun on the mounds of dirt to see if they contained any hidden entrances. "I don't get it," said May, recalling her Pokémon once more. "This has to be the place. We've looked everywhere."

"Maybe this whole thing is a setup," Todd suggested. "They want to make us think this is where the base is, but they've hidden it somewhere else."

"But Murkrow saw them come this way," Brendan insisted, Murkrow cawing in agreement. "I hope we're not all under Hypno's Hypnosis and we're missing something completely obvious." From the looks on their faces, Brendan knew the thought created the same shuddering fear in them as it did in him. The Hoenn boy turned his flashlight back on and waved the beam around dismissively, then turned it back off.

Todd pressed a button to turn the screen on his PokéNav. "Just want to see where we are exactly." He gently turned a knob on the side of his device. "Good. We're not too far from the highway."

"Doesn't surprise me," said Brendan. He clicked his flashlight on again and waving it around at the trees behind him. "They'd need to be close to the highway so they can- "

He paused abruptly, the beam of his flashlight still. He narrowed his eyes as he began to move the beam around again slowly, combing a small patch of forest opposite to the point at which they'd entered the clearing.

"Something out there?" May asked tentatively. Brendan continued to wave his flashlight, finally stopping to point at an unassuming patch of forest.

"Heh," he said. "I _knew_ there was something odd about that tree." He made his way back to the forest, May and Todd on either side of him. His flashlight was trained on the same point all the while.

"This tree," Brendan continued as he pointed at a tree with an enormous trunk, "is dying. Probably because someone hollowed it _out!"_ He bellowed the last word as he landed a heavy kick on the side of the offending tree. But instead of a dull _thunk_, his kick made an odd hollow noise reverberate in the air.

May gave Todd an incredulous look. "I don't even…how did he…" She lost her words, Todd merely shrugging in response. But Brendan saw that they'd noticed it, too. The branches on this tree in particular, once a proud old West Kanto Great Pine, drooped as if in exhaustion, the needles on them brown and brittle. In contrast, all the trees around it were healthy.

Todd walked over to the pine and examined it closely, circling alongside Brendan as they searched for an entrance. "Here we go," said the photographer, aiming his flashlight at a nearly invisible glint of metal. He stuck his fingers into the bark and pulled, then grunted in pain as a chunk of bark tore off and he accidentally dug his nails into his own hand. But Brendan saw that this exposed a metal surface underneath. He and May helped Todd, and the three of them scoured enough bark to find the edge of a door. It opened fluidly, clearly having been subject to recent and continuous use; the bark, though glued on tight, was for camouflage purposes only.

"An elevator," said Brendan, aiming his flashlight inside the tree. The contraption was more or less carved out of the tree's own wood, with steel beams holding up a wooden floor. It would barely have been able to fit the three of them, and even then, it would be a tight fit. He looked up to see a small, curling bulb hanging from a wire, which vanished into the steel mesh ceiling above.

"Conveniently waiting for us at ground level," said Todd. "What are the chances of that?"

Brendan knew what he was thinking, having suspected it himself. But the Hoenn boy was adamant. "Even if it _is_ a trap, I'm going in," he said.

"With a whole squad of Rockets waiting?" Todd challenged. "That's the stupidest thing you could do!"

"Not if we charge in the moment we land!" Brendan replied with as much heat, straining to keep from lashing out at his friend even though he knew, deep down, that Todd was right. That didn't matter now. All that mattered was getting Lear and the others back, and at that moment, he felt like he would've done anything to accomplish that. "May, get Blaziken ready to attack immediately. A Flamethrower'll keep any grunts away, and then we book it. Find my Pokémon, and-"

They whirled around to the sound of footsteps crunching on the needle-littered ground behind them. Three figures were moving toward them from the clearing. Murkrow cawed defiantly while Brendan cursed under his breath. How had they been discovered so quickly? He hadn't noticed anyone watching them either in the forest or here in the clearing. A good look at their company showed that the two men on the sides wore black skin-tight fatigues with white gloves and boots – dressed in the same fashion as May had described Rosen and Guild – but the red-haired woman in the centre was garbed all in white. On all three of them, the red 'R' was prominent.

"Team Rocket!" said May. Swiftly, she hurled a Pokéball in front of her. "Go, Blaziken!" The Blaze Pokémon emerged in a flash of fire as it let out a challenging cry. The men on the sides made to respond in kind, but they stopped mid-throw upon a gesture of the woman's fingers. Calmly, almost seductively, she moved forward, her strong legs flexing in those long white boots. When she'd gotten close enough for them to see the feral smile on her face, she stopped, putting a hand on the belt around her hip.

"A marvellous plan," she said, her tone toying and dismissive. "But I'm afraid the taller boy is right. At least, insofar as he understands the cunning behind our operations. I will say, though, that I expected better of Rosen and Guild." The smile left her face, her pointed red eyes solemn with reproach. "We really only expected you to show up here to reclaim your Pokémon," –she pointed at Brendan– "and then I could have taken Murkrow much more easily. I have a Honchkrow myself, and I'm sure they'd get along famously."

"In your dreams," Brendan growled, following with an oath comparing her to a female Mightyena. The woman tittered and arched her shoulders, as though she found his foul language amusing. Her mannerisms unnerved him, but he lost none of his fire. "Tell me where the girl is, the one with wavy hair. I know she works for you. Tell me where she is, and I'll make her give me back my Pokémon!"

"Sure, kid," one of the Rocket grunts snarled. He took a Pokéball in his hands.

But the woman waved him aside. "Both of you, to the vehicle," she ordered.

"But-"

"Deviations, agent." The coquettish demeanour she'd displayed vanished, her voice becoming a snarl. "Your role here has ended. To the vehicle."

Wordlessly, the two grunts ran off into the forest. Brendan thought about having Blaziken block their way, but in this scenario, the less enemy Pokémon they had to fight, the better. This woman was likely high up in the Rocket hierarchy and enough of an opponent by herself. There was always the slim chance that those grunts had his Pokémon, but he couldn't dwell on that. It couldn't be.

Then, it hit him. "The base," he said out loud.

"Smarter than he looks, this one," said the woman condescendingly. "As if we'd carry valuable merchandise with us into action. What's your name?"

Brendan felt the rage building up in his body. They'd taken the friends who'd fought for him, who'd risked permanent damage to their bodies for Badges, Frontier Symbols, and the chance for him to become a League Champion. And then they'd sent this arrogant woman to mock him.

"Brendan Birch," came the defiant response. "The guy who's going to destroy Team Rocket."

The woman threw her head back and let out a high-pitched shriek. Brendan took a frightful step back and wondered if there was something wrong with her until her lilting chuckle indicated she was laughing. She doubled over, clutching her abdomen as she was wracked by spasms of mirth. Wiping tears from her eyes as her laughter subsided into giggles, she faced Brendan with a wolfish smile. He shuddered. He'd thought the woman merely arrogant before, but now, she was positively neurotic.

"If I had a penny for every time I've heard someone say that, I wouldn't even be in Team Rocket, dear," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'd have retired to a cozy little chateau on Cianwood Isle-"

"I'm going in, guys," Brendan said to May and Todd. "May," he continued softly. "Think you can take care of this Combusken-haired nutcase?"

"Come now, Mr. Brendan Birch!" the woman chided in mock offence before May could answer. "You went ahead and introduced yourself without allowing me to extend the same courtesy! You can call me Arianna. I'm one of the new Executives in Team Rocket's Johto Division. The new face of Team Rocket, if you will." She fingered the red 'R' on her dress daintily. "Not to brag, but I think our organization has definitely improved its fashion sense since I was brought on board."

"And wastes its breath more, from the sound of it," Brendan snapped. It was a wasted effort, as Arianna didn't deign to reply in any way. He glanced behind him at the elevator-tree and sighed. There was no other way. He could either risk the consequences of charging into the base headfirst, or possibly lose all his Pokémon whenever Team Rocket moved out – which they appeared to be in the process of doing now. If they went ahead with that, they'd be all but impossible to find later. No, they had to do it now. He trusted Murkrow, and he trusted May.

Arianna shrugged with aquiline grace. "Do give my regards to Marie when you see her," she said to Brendan. "In the meantime, I'll get to know your little friends." She withdrew a Pokéball from the buckle at her waist.

Brendan only half-heard Arianna's remark, giving the others a worried look. "We can handle things from here," May said reassuringly. "Go get your Pokémon back." She faced down Arianna with a challenging stare, the Executive covering a slight yawn with her mouth as though telling them to get on with it.

"Be careful, guys," Brendan said solemnly.

"You, too," said Todd. "We'll be there in a bit to help out."

Brendan nodded before turning his back to them. He walked over and entered the elevator-tree, which was even more cramped than it had appeared from the outside. Now all he had to do was figure out how to use this thing. Turning to face the entrance, he saw a simple panel with a red and green button attached to a beam just to the right of the door.

"This shouldn't be too hard," he said out loud. He pressed the green button and the door closed with a metallic clang. The last thing he saw was Arianna releasing her own Pokémon, a Vileplume. Despite what Todd said, he vowed to be back to help them himself soon, with all his Pokémon in tow.

In the meantime, he had to prepare for whatever awaited him below. Strangely, while the door had closed, the elevator didn't start moving down as he'd expected

"That's odd," he muttered. "Wonder what's wrong with this machine?" Then, Murkrow pecked him lightly on the side of the head.

"What?" he said, slightly irritated. In response, Murkrow hopped over to the panel and pecked the red button before gliding back to Brendan's shoulder. The elevator immediately came to life, beginning its smooth descent.

Brendan chuckled with a mix of nervousness and trepidation. "So that's how it works," he said. "The green button closes the door, and the red one takes you up or down." He patted Murkrow on the head. "Thanks, buddy." Murkrow let out a soft _quork_.

"Let's see what Team Rocket's got in store for us downstairs."

* * *

**A/N: I have a new job which keeps me busy, so future releases will be delayed somewhat. Once again, thank you to everyone who's supported me in writing what is already a behemoth of a story, whether it's through reviews, beta work, or just being a good friend. On that note, I suggest that future reviewers read the section of my profile titled 'On Reviews' to understand what I'm looking for in a critique. Don't be afraid to critique! I'll never improve if I don't see what I'm doing wrong. And don't worry about your review being too long; there's no such thing as tl;dr with me, as you've probably gathered from my extensive chapters.**


	11. She

**Chapter 11: She**

It literally took seconds for Brendan and Murkrow to reach the bottom of the shaft, the elevator coming to a gradual stop. Brendan took a deep breath and opened the door, expecting an immediate attack.

What he didn't expect was the complete silence that greeted him. Silence, and the heady smell of fresh earth. What little light there was came from a row of tiny bulbs above, barely revealing the outline of a tunnel descending into the earth. Brendan took a few cautious steps forward and switched on his flashlight. The tunnel, carved right into the ground and supported by a latticework of wooden beams, veered to the left. The only way to go was forward, but in the event that they were caught, there was nowhere to hide.

"We've just got to risk it," Brendan decided as he made his way through the tunnel, the sound of his footsteps absorbed by the soft, loamy ground. The strangest part in all of this was, why had he come across no resistance yet? That insane Rocket woman – Athena or something – had literally let him walk into Team Rocket's base; a base which so far didn't seem to be guarded in any way. Brendan had figured the place to be crawling with her subordinates, a twisted maze of tunnels and secret passageways. Instead, there was…this.

He tilted his head to get a glimpse of what lay around the curve. The tunnel continued on, bereft of both personnel and materiel, branching into a more permanent stone hallway a few metres ahead. He paused and inhaled deeply, listening for any sounds that might be coming from the hallway. Nothing. He let out his breath in an annoyed huff. Todd had seemed to have the right idea: this was looking more and more like a trap. They were luring him in for whatever reason, most likely to take Murkrow from him and teach him a lesson about getting in Team Rocket's way.

He would have to spring that trap.

The stone hallway was deserted in either direction, Brendan noticed as he came to it. To the left, it turned another corner, from which a bluish light emanated. To the right, it continued in a straight line and ended at a metal door much like the ones that dotted either side of the hallway. A few crates marked with the characteristic red 'R' were lined up against the walls, along with some pairs of statues in either direction that faced each other. Brendan opened the crate nearest to him and found a motley assortment of items, including black spandex uniforms like the ones Arianna's grunts were wearing, white gloves and boots, and belts to clip Pokéballs to. He sifted through the items with distaste. What was it with this team and spandex? He hoped they at least had a blueprint of the base in this costume box.

Of course, there wasn't. But it had been a slim hope at best. It wasn't like they were just going to leave a map lying around for him. Brendan closed the crate and was about to head right when he stopped himself and stared at the statue he was about to walk past. From similar experiences he'd had with Aqua and Magma, it wouldn't have been unusual for the statues to be hiding a camera or invisible alarm. He raised the beam of his flashlight carefully and examined the statue and its counterpart on the opposite wall. Carved into each stone was the shape of a lithe, catlike Pokémon that crouched on its hind legs while staring ahead with a feral grin. The orb on its forehead glimmered blood red, though it couldn't have been a real jewel. Not in a place like this. Instead, Brendan focused on the eyes, which were on a level with his neck.

Sure enough, Brendan caught a metallic glint in the thin eye slits. Most likely, infrared lasers which would sound the alarm the moment he walked through them. Brendan turned around. A pair of statues guarded the path behind him as well. He was going to have to get past them either way. That, or he could regroup with May and Todd. He dismissed the thought as soon as it formed. He'd be no help to anyone without his Pokémon. Perhaps there was a way to get past the statues without being detected. Or if they really did give off infrared beams, he could sneak under or over them.

He opened the crate again and fumbled through the miscellaneous items. Under the mound of uniforms, he felt something metallic. He pulled it out and found a circular piece of metal with wires going inside and out along the edge. Perhaps this was something Team Rocket members used to pass the hypothetical sensor beams without setting off the alarm.

With an emphasis on _hypothetical._ Brendan sighed, standing up and clutching the metal disk tightly in his right hand. This had to be the stupidest thing he'd ever done. And he'd managed to do some pretty stupid things in his fourteen years of life. Sensor beams, trip wires, alarms in statues…for all he knew, Team Rocket's security system could be far more subtle, and he wouldn't even realize he'd been detected until the girl with the Hypno was right in front of him.

He pushed that thought out of his mind, too. Taking a deep breath, he recalled Murkrow and walked past the pair of statues.

As with the bottom of the elevator, this proved to be rather anticlimactic. No alarms started ringing and no Team Rocket agents rushed out of the hallway to meet him. However, the disk emanated a noticeable hum as he passed between the statues, similarly to how a cell phone would when set to vibrate.

This was a good sign. His hunch had been right. Brendan hoped his good luck would keep with him until he found his Pokémon, and then, it wouldn't matter anymore. Lear and Nathair alone were enough to handle any opponent he might face, so he could move through the base with relative impunity. Brendan rushed headlong past the next set of statues with similar results and grinned. If this was the 'new face of Team Rocket,' as the woman had touted, then their security definitely needed another facelift.

He opened the metal door in front of him and faced a hallway similar to the one he was in now. To his right was a dead end, but the path to his left continued on before terminating at another T-shaped junction in the distance. While there were no statues in this hallway, there were plenty of thick columns flanking the walls that Brendan could hide behind, if need be. The wrought iron wall sconces, their fires creating a flickering, wan light, gave the area the gloomy appearance of a Mirage Kingdom dungeon.

Brendan had taken a few steps down the hall when he heard voices. Switching off his flashlight, he hid behind the nearest column. Moments later, he could pick up snatches of heated conversation. Both male, they appeared to be complaining about receiving inadequate compensation for their service to Team Rocket.

Willing his heart to stop beating so loudly, Brendan chanced a quick look around the column. A pair of shadows was emerging from the corner ahead, too quickly for him to turn back into the other hall. And if he opened the door next to him, there was a chance they'd hear it and come after him. This was a stupid idea after all. He was as good as caught now.

"We used to be the fear and terror of Kanto," griped one of the Rockets. "Now, thanks to these clowns, we keep getting sent to the middle of nowhere."

"Doing double the work for half the pay," his companion added. "Used to be I could go to Cinnabar, all expenses paid, and lounge on the beach for a couple weeks, and now I gotta save up for a pack of smokes." Brendan held his breath. They were almost on him…

"Cinnabar's done these days, anyway," said Grunt One. "What with the volcano."

"Yeah." Grunt Two sighed. "Almost makes me think of going straight, you know?"

They stopped, what seemed like a hair's breadth away from Brendan. He pursed his lips together and bunched up his fists, fighting a sudden and very inconveniently timed desire to sneeze. Meanwhile, the first grunt made a shushing noise. "Not so loud!" he warned. "If _she_ hears that, she'll tell the boss."

The second grunt dismissed his colleague with a snort. "It's not like she's around now."

_She._ It couldn't be her, could it? Brendan's blood turned to ice.

"Come on, let's keep going," Grunt Two continued. "We still need to get a couple of these Pokémon to the lab."

He barely finished his sentence before Brendan heard someone running from around the corner, and a third voice yelled, "Petrel wants us all at the entrance, right now!"

The other two Rockets, who were seconds away from spotting Brendan, thankfully went back down the hall. "What does he want now?" grumbled Grunt Two. "We were about to take these Pokémon to the lab."

"Forget about that now," said the newcomer, breathing heavily. "Petrel's the only bigwig who makes any sense around here, anyway. If it's important, it's important. Come on, let's go!"

The first two Rockets needed no further incentive. Wordlessly, they followed the other guy back around the corner, their footsteps receding into the distance.

Brendan let out a sigh of relief; not too loudly, though, as sound echoed in these halls, and he didn't want to lose this opportunity to go deeper into the base. One of the grunts had mentioned they were taking Pokémon back to the 'lab' while heading in Brendan's direction. That meant that it was either close to the hallway with the feline statues or behind the very door he was next to now. Either way, that had to be where his Pokémon were.

He decided to try the nearby door first. Turning the lever-like handle, he entered into complete darkness. The silence suggested that whatever was inside here, it was at least unoccupied. Brendan closed the door behind him before turning on his flashlight. The door had a lock on it, but after a moment's thought, he decided to keep the room unlocked. Finding a locked door which had previously been left open would tip off the Rockets immediately if any of them came wandering in this direction.

"Okay, then," Brendan said to himself. He turned on his flashlight. "Let's see what we've got here."

* * *

Todd stared at the scene in front of him in frustration. If only he'd trained Mankey some more. If only he'd at least gotten his first Pokémon he was ten, like everyone else in Kanto had, and trained it up a bit. Then, he could at least try to turn the tide in this uphill battle. If only, if only, if only… Lamenting the past wouldn't do him any good. For now, he had to have faith in May and Blaziken.

"Dodge!" May's order to her starter was filled with desperation as Arianna's Honchkrow, a large, black-winged, opal-eyed monstrosity of a bird, made another raking pass at her Pokémon with its talons. Blaziken deftly rolled out of the way. "Flamethrower!" May followed up.

Arianna cackled with mirth. "Poor dear," she taunted while Honchkrow lazily dodged Blaziken's jet of fire. "You may have been able to roast Vileplume, but even by type alone, Blaziken doesn't stand a chance against Honchkrow. Another Foul Play should do it."

Though Foul Play was a Dark-type attack, Todd knew that it still did plenty of damage. First refined in Unova, Foul Play took a Pokémon's attacking power and turned that against it. With Blaziken's high attack, his Fighting-type did almost nothing to protect him from Honchkrow's ruthless assault. That didn't even take into account Honchkrow's Flying attacks: a combination of those and Foul Play had brought Blaziken to his knees after he'd effortlessly dispatched the flower-shaped Vileplume.

But the worst part of all, in Todd's estimation, was May's dwindling confidence. She'd started off strong but cautious, and still found herself losing this battle. Despite Blaziken's best efforts, Honchkrow was too fast, too fluid in its movements. Losing hope, May soon fell back to her old style of charging head-on.

And Arianna was clearly going to exploit that opportunity.

Blaziken leaped into the air from the top of a mound to meet Honchkrow at a level height. Honchkrow took off in the other direction as soon as Blaziken struck with a Blaze Kick, and the attack only grazed the Big Boss Pokémon's wing. Pivoting around with speed belied by its bulky frame, Honchkrow darted back and stabbed Blaziken with the dark energy that had formed around its beak. May's starter roared in pain as he fell on top of another mound, the dirt cushioning his fall.

"Fly attack!" Arianna said. She smiled cruelly at May, scarlet eyes gleaming with triumph at her impending victory. Honchkrow spread its wings. A wind picked up and swirled around it, and it dive-bombed at its grounded opponent. Blaziken was lying down on his side, and Todd winced in sympathy for the Blaze Pokémon as he was about to be dealt a finishing blow.

At the last moment, Blaziken raised a leg and hit Honchkrow with another Blaze Kick, this one right on target. Honchkrow collapsed in a heap, sliding along the sharp pine needles before coming to a stop against a tree trunk. Relief washed across May's face as Blaziken pulled himself to his feet, panting heavily. The flames on his joints were dangerously low. A single hit, and he'd go down.

In Todd's opinion, there was only one thing left to do, and that was what he'd wanted from the start. He took out a cell phone from his pocket. It was a custom-made device that had cost him a pretty penny, but it picked up even the weakest and farthest signals, and he never went without it when travelling in the wilderness.

"Into the air again!" Arianna ordered her Pokémon, unperturbed by Honchkrow's failed manoeuvre. _Good,_ Todd thought. _She's still focused on the battle. _"Now, dear, you don't think you've won with that one little stroke of luck, do you?"

"Luck isn't winning me anything!" May retorted. _Click click click. _Todd dialled the emergency number as discreetly as he could, keeping an eye on Arianna while May ranted at her. "Whatever happens, I know Blaziken's doing the best he can. We trust each other, but I guess Team Rocket wouldn't know anything about that."

"How principled," said Arianna, her lip curling. "Foul Play ag-"

After a couple rings, Todd finally got an answer. Before the lady on the other end could finish greeting him, he blurted out, "We're battling Team Rocket!"

In a whiplash motion, Arianna twisted her head to face him, that same cruel sneer plastered to her face. "That won't do you any good, honey!" she said. "By the time the police get here, I'll be long gone."

Todd ignored her as he explained the situation. "We're close to a campground near Route 29-" He glanced at his PokéNav for a split second. "-due north-northwest of New Bark Town."

"Foul Play again, Honchkrow," the Rocket Executive continued calmly. Honchkrow cawed, and she clarified, "No, not the boy. Keep fighting Blaziken. Put the poor thing out of its misery and then we can leave."

Honchkrow took to the skies again. Todd watched as he finished up his explanation for the police. "…the trees have all been cut-" Honchkrow made a vector for Blaziken. "…yeah, my friend's battling-" May yelled out a "Fire Punch!" while Todd continued. "Please come quickly."

Honchkrow quickly got within arm's reach of Blaziken, too quickly for the Blaze Pokémon. Instead of following through with its Fire Punch, Blaziken held it back with its paws. The two Pokémon locked into place, each pushing against the other with all they had.

Arianna was about to call out another attack when Todd reacted to the next thing the policewoman said. "You already have troops nearby?" he repeated after a gasp.

That got the Executive's attention. A moment of shock passed over her features, the arrogance dissolving, and her next command brimmed with urgency: "Dark Pulse, Honchkrow! Quickly now!"

May and Todd had to fall to the ground to avoid the ring of dark energy that Honchrow emitted with a harsh caw of effort. Blaziken, hit point blank, wasn't so lucky. May's starter was flung back, bringing up a cloud of needles and dust as he fell to the side of a dirt heap. He pushed himself off the ground slowly, still determined to make the most out of this battle.

Arianna hadn't missed a beat. The self-assured smile she adopted – the smile she was directing at _him, _Todd realized with a gulp – indicated someone who wouldn't fold simply because she was more acutely pressed for time than before. "Fly, Honchkrow," she said with an air of finality.

"Blaziken, re-"

Before May had even lifted the Pokéball all the way, the final blow fell. Honchkrow's red eyes left trails in the air as it stabbed Blaziken square in the chest with its beak. The Blaze Pokémon stood for a split second before collapsing to the ground unconscious.

May let out an anguished huff. "Blaziken, return," she murmured, then cast a furious, tearful look at the Rocket Executive. "You had to have the last move, didn't you?"

But Arianna was already mounting Honchkrow, her white suit billowing as she swung her body into a comfortable position. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I really do need to be going," she said casually. With a flap of its wings, Honchkrow lifted off the ground, and Arianna waved as she and her Pokémon flew away.

"Next time will be different!" May shouted after her.

Todd placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's hope there isn't a next time," he said softly. "I've had more of Team Rocket than I can stand."

May faced him, wiping a tear from her eye. She attempted a weak smile, but Todd didn't hold her emotions against her. All but one of her Pokémon had been defeated in tonight's battles, so it was to her credit that she'd fought as well as she did. Todd knew she was as great a Trainer as a Coordinator.

"Me, too," she said. "All that's left now is to wait for Brendan-"

Again, May was cut off, this time by an amplified voice from the forest yelling, "This is the Johto National Army! Recall your Pokémon and surrender peacefully!"

"That was quick," said Todd. Scores of footsteps could be heard approaching the clearing, and figures holding flashlights began to melt out of the darkness. As they approached, he made out their dark gray combat fatigues, the perfect colour for nocturnal ambushes like the one they'd attempted now. But they weren't the only ones with tricks up their sleeves. A quick glance to the sky showed that Arianna had long since vanished, Honchkrow's dark plumage blending as well into the night as the soldiers' uniforms.

The soldiers moved with dancelike precision, some of them remaining on guard at the edges of the clearing while five of them searched the clearing itself. One of them, a tall fellow, waved his flashlight at May and Todd, and asked, "Were you the ones who placed that call just now?"

"I did," Todd affirmed. Then, he suddenly recognized the soldier in front of him as he came closer, the telltale fringe of midnight-blue hair coming into focus.

"Jimmy?"

The soldier was about to ask them another question when the sound of his name made him pause, and he raised his flashlight to their faces. May and Todd winced.

"Oh, it's you," the New Bark Town boy said disdainfully, lowering his flashlight.

"Yeah, _us,_" May replied in the same tone. "Is that a problem?"

Jimmy ignored her as he fiddled with a microphone at his collar. "I have the caller right here," he said, presumably to his superior. "Two civilians, not affiliated with Team Rocket." He faced May and Todd again. "Do you still have all your Pokémon?"

"We do," said May. "But Brendan's down in the base-"

"They still have their Pokémon," Jimmy said into his mic. A hiss of static, and Todd overheard instructions to guard them. "Roger." To May and Todd, he said, "You mentioned the base. Is it close by?"

Todd pointed to the dying tree Brendan had noticed earlier at the same moment another trooper yelled, "Jimmy! We've found the base!"

A strange mix of anguish and anticipation washed across Jimmy's face. "Tell that to Officer Jenny, Mitch, not me." The other man smiled, and spoke into his microphone. His words were drowned out as Jimmy spoke:

"You two stay right here with me."His command brooked no room for argument.

"What? No!" May said, as Todd expected she would. He could already picture this conversation scripted in his head. "If you've been listening, our friend is down in that base-"

"Where there are enough Rockets to take on this entire force!" Jimmy interrupted. "Your friend found the other entrance, I'll grant you that, but we're already fighting them out front. You come down there, you'd just be in the way."

"What do you mean, out front?" The hostility in May's tone weakened, overtaken by curiosity. Jimmy nodded to a pair of troopers who were entering the elevator they'd discovered earlier, then confirmed with his commander that they'd secured the area and were now entering the base.

"They have another entrance up ahead, closer to Route 29," Jimmy explained, turning back to May and Todd. "We've been searching the area for the past hour, looking for the back way in."

"I thought as much," said Todd. "This couldn't have been their main way in and out. Arianna just used it to trap Brendan."

"So they brought an Executive along, too."

"She got away just as I called."

Jimmy slapped his thigh and growled, "Damn it. If we'd gotten here a moment earlier…" He spoke into the mic again: "The civilians were battling Arianna. She escaped." A pause. "I'm sorry." The voice on the other end told him to shove the apologies and save his explanation for the debriefing.

"There's just one thing I don't understand," said May. Todd feared for a moment that she was going to argue again, but that didn't turn out to be the case. "How'd you guys get here before Todd even called? For that matter, how'd you find out about the front entrance?"

Once again, that same anxiety manifested itself in Jimmy's frown. The stocky boy took a deep breath, exhaling sharply. "The truth is-" his voice almost broke, "you're not the only one with someone you care about down there."

* * *

No sooner had Brendan turned on his flashlight than a shout of "Hi, Brendan!" cut through the darkness. He nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around and aiming the flashlight at whoever had spoken.

"Ethan!?" he exclaimed. Sure enough, the energetic boy he'd met in New Bark Town emerged from behind a crate, shielding his eyes with a scrawny forearm but otherwise appearing to be in high spirits. "What are you…" Brendan's voice trailed off as he struggled to express himself. He was torn between wanting to discover how the boy had snuck in here in the first place and dragging him out before they got into any serious trouble.

"I went into the woods to look for Pokémon to capture," said Ethan, quickly and loudly. "And-"

Brendan interrupted the younger boy with a shushing noise. "Keep your voice down!" he hissed. "You keep shouting like that and they'll find us."

"Oops, sorry," came the half-whispered reply. "So how'd you end up here of all places? You're helping to take Team Rocket down, right?"

"I certainly am now," said Brendan. He sighed. "They took all my Pokémon except Murkrow."

Ethan just stared at him for a moment, crestfallen. "But…how?" he said softly, with all the bewildered disappointment of a child finding that his role model wasn't invincible. Having just met the kid today, Brendan highly doubted he was Ethan's role model, but Ethan seemed the type to look up to any older Pokémon Trainer. As, of course, Brendan himself had a couple years back. "You went all over Hoenn and came in second in the…whatever they call the League tournament there." He paused. "You're Professor Birch's son." Ethan spoke that last phrase as if the fact alone guaranteed Brendan victory over any opponent.

"What I am is an idiot." Brendan didn't say this out of angst, but he knew it was partly his own recklessness that had caused him to have his Pokémon taken from right under his nose. He explained the situation to Ethan, who surprisingly enough, listened patiently.

"Well, we just need to get your Pokémon back!" Ethan declared when Brendan had finished speaking, the heady glow returned to his eyes. "And then, we'll beat Team Rocket!"

"That's why I'm here," said Brendan. He looked his new companion in the eye and continued sternly, to make sure Ethan was listening. The last thing he needed was a loose cannon complicating his escape. "We're going to be careful until I find where they're keeping my Pokémon, and then, we get out of here immediately."

"But I have Cyndaquil-" Ethan began to protest.

"Which you just got today." Brendan enunciated the last three words. He suddenly remembered something else, and shook his head. "First of all, how'd you even get in here?" he demanded. "Second, _why_ are you even here? A rookie shouldn't mess with people like Team Rocket." Remembering the Dewford Cave incident, he felt the sting of hypocrisy in his own words before they even left his mouth, but ignored it.

"I got in through the front door, duh!" Ethan replied matter-of-factly. He pointed behind him. "It's over that way. They carved a big tunnel into the hillside near where Jimmy and I were camping. I wanted to check it out, but Jimmy wouldn't let me."

"Wait, Jimmy was with you?" That made sense. Jimmy likely wouldn't have wanted his cousin starting his journey alone. Not surprising, considering that Ethan seemed to have a knack for getting himself into trouble.

Ethan nodded vigorously. "I waited for him to fall asleep and then I went over to the cave and saw that it was guarded by a couple guys from Team Rocket. When they went back inside, I followed them. I thought this was where the missing Pokémon would be, so I was going to call the police once I found them."

Brendan sighed. "Your cousin's going to be real happy when he finds out you're gone," he said sarcastically. "If he doesn't know already. You just wandered in here for shits and giggles when you _knew_ Team Rocket was using this place-"

"I told you, I was going to call the cops when I found out where they'd hidden the Pokémon-"

"And _did_ you find them?"

"I…I think so." Ethan hesitated, staring down at the floor. "There was a lab nearby, but it was guarded, so I couldn't get in."

A light bulb went off in Brendan's head. "A lab?" Ethan nodded again. "Was this…lab down the hall in front of us, by any chance?"

"Mmm-hmm! There are some statues of Persian on the sides. I was going to check it out, but there were a couple Rockets guarding it."

Brendan chuckled. "So that's what that Pokémon's called. I've never seen it in Hoenn. Good thing you didn't walk past those statues, because I think they've got motion sensors in them." He waved his flashlight around. As he'd suspected, the room they were in was used for storage, piled with crates similar to the ones he'd seen in the rest of the base. He opened one and rummaged around until he found another metal disk like the one he had on him.

"What are you looking for?" asked Ethan.

"You'll need one of these," Brendan said, holding out the disk.

"Oh, I already have one," Ethan said, grinning as he took another disk out of the pocket of his shorts. "Everyone knows that Team Rocket uses infrared scramblers to get past the alarm without setting it off."

Brendan made a sound between a snort and a chuckle. Perhaps Ethan wasn't as naïve as he'd thought. The kid clearly knew a lot more about how Team Rocket operated than Brendan himself did, and was using that to his advantage.

"Well, look who's the crime-fighting expert," said Brendan, not unkindly. Ethan beamed. "How'd you find that out? About the infrared whatsit?"

"Infrared scrambler," Ethan repeated. "They show them on the news whenever they discover one of Team Rocket's bases. And I watch a lot of crime shows where they track down-"

"Sorry to cut you off," Brendan said, positive that once Ethan started rambling, he wouldn't stop, "but we still need to find my Pokémon." The other boy stopped talking, but didn't seem offended as Brendan turned and aimed his flashlight at door handle. He motioned to Ethan to stay in the shadows while he opened the door slowly. He peeked outside and looked in both directions, letting out his breath in relief when he saw that no one was around.

"Come on!" He waved an arm.

But Ethan didn't follow. "Uh…Brendan?" Unlike before, his voice was high and thin, as though he were scared.

"Hmm?" Brendan turned to face Ethan, and then he saw it.

Hovering in mid-air just a few metres away were a pair of light blue orbs, glittering like miniature lamps in the darkness. Brendan gave a startled gasp, dropping his flashlight, and swore as a mouth full of pointy teeth opened right underneath the orbs. The creature hovered forward, revealing the silhouette of a large head with double-pointed ears and a small body with four skinny limbs. On its stomach was another, reddish-pink gemstone.

Without a second thought, Brendan reached down to grab his flashlight with one hand and called Murkrow out from his Pokéball with the other. The Darkness Pokémon cawed a challenge to the intruder, who wasn't doing much except grinning at them playfully. It scratched its ear absentmindedly as Ethan stammered, "W-What is that thing?"

"Sableye," Brendan answered, keeping an eye on the other Pokémon as he backed out into the hall and nodded for Ethan to do the same. "It's native to Hoenn. I didn't know it existed here as well. We gotta move. Murkrow, keep Sableye away from us if it tries to attack."

Daring to turn their backs to the creature, which Brendan could tell wasn't a wild one, they ran past the first set of statues, past the earthen path that led up to the elevator, then past another two pairs of statues. All the while, Murkrow cawed warningly to keep the other Pokémon away. But Brendan noticed that Sableye was keeping its distance. It made a couple swipes with its paws and dodged Murkrow's retaliatory talons almost lazily. All the while, the ghostly Pokémon kept its foolish grin.

"It's almost like it's playing with us," said Brendan when they reached the end of the hallway. To their right was a short but wide hallway which led to the source of the bluish light Brendan had seen earlier.

"I-It doesn't hurt humans, does it?" Ethan asked in that same fearful voice.

"Nah." Brendan watched as Murkrow made another pass at Sableye, cawing in frustration when the other Pokémon dodged. Sableye laughed playfully, holding its paws to its mouth. "It only eats rocks and minerals. The real problem with this one is, it belongs to someone else, and that someone else is probably headed this way. Murkrow!" All things considered, this was a good time for Murkrow to get some combat experience. "Can you do a Faint Attack?"

Murkrow cawed affirmatively, and vanished into the shadows while Sableye looked around for it. But there was no time to wait.

"Let's see what's in this 'lab,'" said Brendan.

"I can help," Ethan offered as they made their way past a pair of open metal doors – again, Brendan was not impressed with their lax security.

"No, Ethan." Brendan could understand his sentiments, but there'd been enough bravado by everyone tonight, and Team Rocket was sure to have discovered their presence by now. In any case, Ethan didn't respond. The New Bark boy frowned, looking ahead.

Brendan wasn't surprised that Ethan and the Rockets had called the low-ceilinged, spacious room they entered a 'lab.' It certainly didn't merit that particular appellation, but it had the same clinical feel, given off by the white Formica counter lining the walls and the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling. But what interested him the most were the rows of clear plastic displays in the middle of the room.

More accurately, he was interested in the thousands of Pokéballs that had been stuffed inside them.

"These must be the Pokémon from Elm's lab," said Brendan. Immediately, he walked over to the nearest display and examined it, trying to find a way to open it.

At that moment, Murkrow came flying back inside, looking none the worse for wear. "Where's Sableye?" Brendan asked his Pokémon. Murkrow warbled sadly in response, and Brendan told Ethan to stay put while he went back out into the hall.

Sableye had vanished. Moreover, there were no Rocket grunts waiting for him. It was as quiet as it had been before.

"What's going on here?" Brendan muttered. "Aside from Sableye, this has all been way too easy." His thoughts drifted to May and Todd, and he felt a pang of guilt for abandoning them as he recalled Murkrow.

Back inside, Ethan had found out how to open the displays that held the Pokéballs. All that was needed was to turn a small knob at the base of each structure. With a click and a snap, the display opened at the top, and Brendan sifted through the numerous spheres. Some of them belonged to regular Trainers, and could be clearly identified as Pokéballs that were commercially sold. But most of them were unpainted, distinguished only by serial numbers engraved into the surface. Brendan figured the latter clearly belonged to the New Bark facilities, having seen similar Pokéballs in Dad's lab. Finally, a few of the spheres were still attached to belts or shoulder clips, presumably belonging to the Trainers Team Rocket had stolen from.

This would make finding his own Pokémon much easier, Brendan reflected as he opened one display, and then the next, and then the one after that.

"Did you keep your Pokémon on a belt, Brendan?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, it's a black leather belt," he answered. An Ultra Ball fell out of the display he was sifting through and he put it back inside. He raised his head to look at Ethan. "It's-"

In Ethan's hand was his waist clip, five Pokéballs attached to it. Brendan laughed softly, relief flooding through him as Ethan handed him the belt with a smile.

"See? We make a great team!" said the New Bark boy.

"We certainly do." Brendan clapped him on the back. The kid wasn't so bad after all. Despite his excess energy and lack of planning, Brendan felt he'd go far. All he needed was a little discipline.

"Let's get out of here first," he continued, noticing that Ethan was ready to contact the authorities via his PokéGear. He reattached the belt to his waist – he was pleased to note that he'd already trimmed down this week, losing some of the flab he'd gained during his month-long stay back home – and gazed at the door through which they'd entered the lab.

In that instant, he heard Ethan gasp, and swung around. And then he gasped, too.

_Her._

Standing at the far end of the lab was a girl wearing the black fatigues of Team Rocket, minus the beret. The moment Brendan turned, she started to walk toward them with slow, deliberate strides, her white boots silent as they touched the floor. There was something unnatural about the way she moved; that, and the way she kept her emerald-green eyes fixed on him as she approached sent shivers down his spine, even as he felt himself smouldering with rage. Her firm features were hardened into an emotionless mask, the thick, arched brows, slightly hooked, aquiline nose, and thin lips almost enamel-like. Her olive skin, touched in a couple spots by small moles, complemented black wavy hair that billowed down to her shoulders. He estimated the girl to be a bit taller than him, but not by very much. She was attractive in an eerie way, he thought fleetingly.

She was also the one who'd stolen his Pokémon.

Before Brendan could say or do anything, Ethan suddenly sprung into action. Stepping in front of him, the younger boy tossed a Pokéball and yelled, "Go, Cyndaquil!" Emerging from her Pokéball was Ethan's starter Pokémon, an innocent-looking little ball of dark green and creamy vanilla fur with four red spots on her back. Cyndaquil quickly prepared for battle, though, unfurling her short limbs and revealing a round head with a long snout and slit-like eyes. With a high-pitched _"Quiiiil!"_ the spots on her back burst into flame.

The girl didn't even move, her eyes remaining fixed on Brendan's own. Brendan drew a sharp intake of breath, letting it out slowly. There was no life in those eyes. More accurately, no life outside of a grim determination. She was nothing like the pair of Rocket grunts he'd encountered earlier, and certainly bore little resemblance to the flashy red-haired Executive. He knew a tough opponent when he saw one.

"Ethan, let me handle her," said Brendan warningly. He took Lear's Pokéball in his hands, its presence comforting. It was only then that the girl reacted, her eyes narrowing in anticipation of the coming battle.

As if on cue, the Sableye from before emerged behind her, literally melting out of the slight shadow she made on the floor. Brendan and Ethan didn't even have the time to gasp as, without so much as a word or motion from the girl, the Darkness Pokémon became a blur, darting forth and slashing Cyndaquil with its claws. There was a soft hiss and crackle of dark energy, and with a high-pitched squeal, Ethan's starter was sent flying backward, making a soft thump as she landed behind the boys.

"Cyndaquil!" Ethan wailed, rushing to his Pokémon's side and cradling her in his arms. Unsurprisingly, Cyndaquil had been knocked out with just one blow. Brendan's heart went out to the boy as he dejectedly recalled his Pokémon. What a start to his training career that had been. The girl's infuriatingly calm demeanour filled Brendan with rage.

"I'll get back at her for you," he said solemnly. Ethan didn't answer, save for a slight nod, his jaw quivering. Brendan released Lear, the Mud Fish emerging from his Pokéball with a ferocious battle cry. Pointing at the grinning ghoul who hovered tauntingly at the girl's shoulder, Brendan ordered, "Waste that Sableye. And whatever other Pokémon she has."

Lear grunted affirmatively, aiming a Water Gun at the Darkness Pokémon. But it moved aside with the same laziness it had shown earlier. Meanwhile, the girl literally sprung backwards; in mid-jump, she yelled something Brendan didn't understand – 're-via,' it sounded like – and recalled her Pokémon.

"She's trying to get away!" Ethan cautioned.

He was wrong. The moment Sableye had returned to its ball, his mysterious Trainer landed softly on her feet. She called forth another Pokémon, again in a language Brendan didn't know. Her voice was calm and firm. In her tone, Brendan recognized the signs of an experienced Trainer, one who could project their confidence while maintaining perfect control of the battle.

The moth-like Pokémon she released hovered at eye level. It had light purple wings, its main body divided into an oval thorax and abdomen and a pointed head which culminated in three spikes. Three pairs of short legs protruded from the thorax, while bulbous blue eyes with huge pupils stared ahead vacantly. Brendan briefly considered analyzing the Pokémon with his Pokédex, but felt it would be better to focus on the battle.

"Think you'll have a better chance of winning by switching Pokémon?" he challenged. When the girl didn't reply, he ordered: "Lear, Mud Shot!"

With a reedy, monotone _"Venomoth,"_ the moth looped in the air to dodge the stream of mud that Lear spewed forth – which splattered against the wall behind it, nearly getting some on Ethan – and then sped at him in a flash of light purple. An Aerial Ace. Brendan hissed. "Stop it with Hammer Arm!" he ordered. How could it move so quickly? She hadn't even given the damn thing an order.

Another surprise awaited them. When the moth made contact with Lear's glowing Hammer Arm, it didn't so much collide as simply bounce off, ricocheting to another angle.

"Poison Powder," the girl called out. She spoke with a smooth, lyrical accent, her 'r' at the end of the last syllable slightly guttural. Her Pokémon responded with a trilling cry, flapping its wings with blindingly fast repetition as it released a thick purple cloud.

"Get away from it, Lear!" Brendan cried. He knew that an amphibious Pokémon like Swampert was especially vulnerable to toxins due to his absorbent skin. Lear's experience had mitigated this effect somewhat, but Brendan wasn't willing to take chances. The Mud Fish leapt back and squeezed through two rows of displays. "Us, too, Ethan," the older Trainer said firmly. Ethan nodded, trembling, and the boys went back as far from the cloud of poison as possible.

"Now how do we beat that thing?" Brendan muttered as they moved back, glancing at Lear a couple rows down. "Ethan, you know what that Pokémon is?"

"It's a Venomoth," the younger boy answered. "But they're not normally this fast. It's part-Bug and part-Poison-"

"I get it," Brendan interrupted. The girl called out another order, and Venomoth moved in closer. "Does it have any weaknesses- oh, crap!"

For some reason, Lear had stopped in its tracks, and Brendan could easily see why: Venomoth's eyes were glowing a bright blue. "This thing can use Psychic!?" he said incredulously. "Lear, fight it!"

_"Swam…pert…!"_ With a grunt of exertion, Lear fought to stop being pushed forward into the miasma of Poison Powder. That last attack had been incredibly potent, Brendan thought as he felt his eyes sting. Even Venomoth's Trainer was reacting now, moving out of the toxic cloud's range while keeping her eyes on the battle.

The trick would be for Lear to draw close to Venomoth without getting poisoned. "Gotta get that Poison Powder out of the way first," said Brendan. "Water Gun!"

It took some effort, but Lear fought back against Venomoth's Psychic and opened his mouth to let out a Water Gun. Just a trickle at first, but it quickly reached full blast as Psychic weakened. Lear moved his Water Gun around to disperse all the Poison Powder, a task complicated by Venomoth using a steady Gust on the jets of water to throw off his aim. But the miasma cleared, and Brendan and his Pokémon advanced. Their steps made splashing sounds as they walked on the wet floor.

Meanwhile, Venomoth swung around for another Aerial Ace, and again, Brendan had Lear push it away with Brick Break. Again, Venomoth seemed to ricochet off Lear's glowing arm. Brendan ducked as the moth flew at his head. "Water Gun!" he ordered Lear. "Don't worry about us! Come on, Ethan, let's get out of the way."

Lear fired a jet of water at Venomoth, which predictably missed. But the point for now was to keep the opponent occupied so it wouldn't unleash another Poison Powder.

"Signal Beam," the girl ordered, not missing a beat. In that moment, Lear's Water Gun missed again, but hit one of the fluorescent lights on the ceiling and shattered it. There was a loud buzz and the lights flickered before turning back on. Brendan cursed and Ethan yelped as they scrambled to avoid the sparks running down from the broken light: with so much water from Lear's attacks everywhere, this was a recipe for electrocution. Lear was taken by surprise, too, and thus took the red-and-blue Signal Beam head-on. He was knocked back, crashing into several displays. Pokéballs fell out of their cases and soon covered the floor.

They had to end this battle soon. At this rate, and in these cramped quarters, they'd end up bringing the place down on themselves. "Lear!" Brendan called out in concern, watching his starter deflect a third Aerial Ace with his muscular arm. Lear withdrew, leaping back over a couple rows so he wouldn't have to fight on the death trap the floor had become with all the Pokéballs and debris littering it.

The girl, standing at the opposite end of the lab, didn't appear concerned in the least. She ordered another attack, and Venomoth spat a deep purple gob at Lear, who barely dodged. _A Toxic attack_, Brendan thought. If even one of those hit Lear, this battle would get a whole lot worse for him than it was now. With those long-range attacks, augmented by the occasional well-timed Aerial Ace, Venomoth was easily directing the flow of this battle.

No wonder Brendan had seen a competent battler in those eyes, was so scared despite himself. He shook his head. He wouldn't give in after coming all this way. He owed his Pokémon – and May, Todd, and Ethan – that much.

Brendan ordered Lear to use another Mud Shot. Though they were keeping Venomoth at bay, he knew that the trick would be to draw it in. He'd noticed that Venomoth preferred to use status-changing moves and long-range attacks, Aerial Ace being the sole exception. Which obviously meant that Venomoth had low Defence.

"Use Mud Bomb to keep away that Toxic and then move in close!" Brendan said. Instantly, the other Trainer reacted: he could tell as much when the calm expression on her face vanished, her jaw hardening. He'd figured out her strategy.

The girl yelled out a command in that mellifluous, non-rhotic language, and both she and Venomoth moved to dodge the enormous sphere of mud that Lear spat out. She ran into one of the aisles between displays and ducked, her Pokémon flying in the same direction as the Mud Bomb hit the countertop and runny silt flew everywhere.

But Lear was ready. Twisting around on the wet floor, the Mud Fish's right arm tensed and glowed, and he swung a Brick Break at his crafty opponent.

"Toxic!"

Before anyone could even blink, Venomoth spat another round of purple goo, which hit Lear on the side of his neck just as his Brick Break connected with the moth's abdomen. "No!" Brendan roared as Lear groaned. The Toxic instantly seeped into the Mud Fish's body, the process aided by his naturally porous skin. Venomoth crashed into a row of displays, spilling more Pokéballs onto the ground, but Brendan didn't notice. He gulped as he watched Lear struggle, body tensed for battle even though the poison coursing through his veins weakened him. He briefly considered switching Lear out for Nathair, but his starter had just scored his first hit on the enemy. He'd fought too hard to be recalled now.

Lear dodged another Aerial Ace by Venomoth, and Brendan suddenly knew how they'd win this battle. They just needed to change their strategy. That Aerial Ace, designed to be a mere annoyance, was Venomoth's weakness.

"Water Gun again!" Brendan ordered. As expected, Venomoth simply fluttered aside.

"Why are you using Water Gun?" said Ethan. "Venomoth's just going to keep dodging!"

Brendan smiled, not keeping his eyes off the battle. "Watch and learn."

"Signal Beam!" the girl ordered. Though not as quickly as before he'd been poisoned, Lear dodged, sliding back to the wall as Signal Beam caused another display to explode into splinters and multicoloured spheres.

"Move in close again!" Brendan ordered. Lear obeyed, advancing down an aisle toward Venomoth.

For the second time in that battle, Lear stopped in his tracks. Brendan let out his breath in a hiss. "Another Psychic," he muttered. But then, he smiled. "This tells me exactly what I need to know!"

"What do you mean?" asked Ethan, his voice laced with concern. That was understandable, but…

"I know what you're up to!" Brendan challenged, pointing at the girl. Venomoth had taken advantage of the destruction Lear had wreaked in the girl's corner of the lab, knowing that Lear wouldn't be able to fight there. The girl had intended for her Pokémon to keep pounding Brendan's starter from that spot, where he couldn't get in close.

But if Lear could make a mess, he could also fix it. Paradoxically, that would require a little more destruction on the Mud Fish's part.

"Break out of that Psychic with Earthquake, Lear!"

That got the girl's attention. The serenity on her face vanished as she realized the implications of what Brendan was ordering. Ordering an Earthquake underground, especially one as powerful as Lear could deliver, was all but suicidal.

"Are you crazy?" Ethan shouted, clearly thinking along the same lines. But Brendan knew what he was doing. He'd made the mistake of having Lear use Earthquake underground more than once when fighting Teams Aqua and Magma in their bases. He'd never intended Lear's Earthquake to be more than a minor tremor.

The purpose was to distract the girl, and that, it did.

Lear's foot reached the ground as soon as Venomoth's Psychic attack dissipated. Their surroundings shook palpably, enough for more displays to fall over and a few light fixtures to come loose and flicker. A surprised Ethan also fell with a broken cry, and Brendan helped him up. The mismatched lighting gave the scenario an urgent air as Venomoth darted toward Lear with another Aerial Ace.

Anticipating another Brick Break, the moth was caught completely off-guard as Brendan yelled, "Protect!" once it was within arm's range of Lear. The Mud Fish roared as a gauzy green barrier appeared around him in spherical form. Instead of ricocheting, Venomoth was pushed back, collapsing onto a pile of rubble. For the first time, Brendan saw genuine surprise on the girl's face and savoured it. Even Ethan was impressed, cheering on his friend as he temporarily forgot about his fainted Cyndaquil.

"Ice Beam on the ground, quickly!" Brendan ordered. Lear gladly complied, panting heavily, but still releasing tendrils of icy blue energy which covered the rubble in front of him in a thin layer of ice. He looked the girl in the eye. "Now Venomoth has nowhere to run," he said, his voice full of vindication.

The girl only returned his gaze for a moment before her eyes flickered back to her Pokémon and she made a command. Venomoth took to the air again, but not quite fast enough. Lear's Ice Beam, still going strong, managed to freeze the tip of its wing.

"Gust!" the girl ordered. Venomoth flapped its wings rapidly in order to break through the ice, but otherwise, it remained in the same spot.

That was what Brendan had been waiting for. "Finish it off with Hammer Arm!" he ordered.

Lear literally jumped into the air, his right arm bulging and glowing bright red, and swung at his defenceless opponent. Venomoth dodged, but by this point, its speed had vastly diminished, and even Lear's glancing blow sent it crashing into the ground. Lear himself attempted to land smoothly, but tripped on the sludge of debris and Pokéballs and collapsed against the wall.

Brendan couldn't help but sigh in relief. He let out a cheer, and he and Ethan rushed over to Lear's side. "I'll get you an antidote as soon as we're out of here," he told his faithful starter, who rumbled softly in return. The Mud Fish's expression was pained, but smiling.

Meanwhile, the girl wordlessly recalled Venomoth. She spoke encouragingly at her Pokéball in her native tongue – something Brendan noticed to no small surprise – and then unclipped another sphere from her belt.

_"Allons-y,_ Hypno!"

* * *

**A/N: And here's the second-last chapter of the first TR arc! As always, many thanks to the folks at the RLt, TiNa, and elsewhere who continue to support me with their kind words and actions. Chapter 12, to be released next week, will be the last chapter you see for a while, as I'm looking for another job and making plans for this year's NaNo. So yeah, that's about it. Until next time!**


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